A few hours after Ukrainian kamikaze drones struck the proud towers of the Moscow City business centre, a Muscovite friend received a cold call from her insurance company. Would she like to upgrade her home insurance to include drone attacks, a chirpy salesman asked. Another couple of friends, out for a walk in the woods not far from Vladimir Putin’s country residence at Novo-Ogaryovo, were surprised to discover a pair of Pantsir-S1 mobile anti-aircraft batteries parked by the edge of a field, their warheads pointing warily towards Ukraine. A Muscovite journalist shares a new listing for bed space in an underground garage that he has converted into a bomb shelter.
In Russia’s capital, until recently cocooned from the consequences of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, this is the new normal.
To the delight of pro-Ukrainians, videos of the strikes feature Muscovites panicking
Long-range drone strikes on Moscow began on 3 May when two small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) struck the roof of the Kremlin’s Senate Palace.
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