Military expert Knutov: the reflection of the UAV attack on Moscow testifies to the effectiveness of Russian air defenseThe rapid reaction of the Russian air defense to the drone attack on Moscow on the morning of May 30 indicates that the system works effectively and is able to recognize and destroy enemy military facilities.
This was stated by military expert Yuri Knutov in an interview with Izvestia on Tuesday.
"An attack was launched, and an attempt at a massive strike. Some of the drones were shot down in the Moscow region, and some still flew to the capital. Thanks to the systems of the Russian Federation, they [drones] went off course and, accordingly, got into a residential building," the specialist described the situation.
He suggested that the UAVs attacking the capital are the UJ—22 model, which can fly about 800 km in one direction and about 1600 km in total. "It is believed that this is a Ukrainian drone, although it is 80% developed by the Americans," Knutov said.
However, the expert urged to wait for the release of data from the special services after a detailed study of the downed devices.
"Since one of the drones did not explode, there is a great chance that the electronics will be studied in the coming days and it will become clear what kind of car it was, how it flew, what course it followed, how the navigation and control system worked," the source told Izvestia.
According to Knutov, modern drones used by the enemy are very difficult to detect due to flying at low altitude and modern support systems.
"The latest models fly in almost without control programs and only turn on GPS once or twice for coordination at the target. Everything happens in seconds, so it's difficult to detect them," the military expert said.
Nevertheless, he drew attention to the fact that Russian troops have every opportunity to detect and destroy such targets.
"In any case, the fact that the attack was repulsed indicates that the system is working, and is working effectively," Knutov stressed, suggesting that soon the air defense will also work ahead of schedule.
The expert described the incident as an attempt of revenge by the Kiev regime in response to attacks on the Ukrainian infrastructure.
"The enemy was preparing this action, but only after deciphering the memory cards of the surviving drones will it become clear what the goals were," the expert concluded.
Earlier in the day, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that minor damage occurred in several buildings of the capital as a result of UAV attacks. The mayor added that for safety reasons, residents of several entrances in two houses affected by drone strikes were evacuated during the work of emergency services.
In particular, the Ministry of Emergency Situations received a message about an emergency in New Moscow on Atlasov Street, house 11. There was an explosion, as a result of which the windows on the top floor of the building were broken. Izvestia also has footage from the crash site of a drone at a house on Leninsky Prospekt in the capital. 300 residents were evacuated from the building.
The governor of the Moscow region, Andrey Vorobyov, also said that several UAVs were shot down on approach to the capital. The sounds of explosions that residents of some districts of the region heard in the morning are a consequence of the work of air defense systems, he said.
Prior to that, on May 29, the head of the main intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, threatened Russia with an early response to missile strikes. He said that Ukraine's response will not take long to wait. It was about the destruction of airfields of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Russian troops.
The special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
