‘Global nuclear fire’: Russia’s insane threat amid ‘Moscow’s 9/11’

Russia’s security council threatened to light an atomic fire that would engulf the world, as a Ukraine drone strike on Moscow was compared to the September 11 attacks on New York.

Russia’s nuclear threats became increasingly unhinged as Ukraine ramped up drone attacks on Moscow in what the Kremlin compared to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to ignite a “global nuclear fire” if Ukraine continued to attack, and succeed, on Russian soil.

It comes as Ukraine launched a second drone attack in as many days on a Moscow skyscraper that foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said was equivalent to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001.

“Let’s take a look at another example: the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers. It caused an enormous number of casualties but the methods were the same,” she told the Soloviev Live TV channel.

“The Moscow City district is a civilian site, which only hosts offices and a business centre, along with living quarters – a great number of residential apartments – as well as civilian administrative buildings that have nothing to do with the military.”

“We are seeing the same picture now, as if it is repeating itself.”

Russia's deputy chairman of the country's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev threatened ‘global nuclear fire’. Picture: AFP

After the first attack on the high-rise, Mr Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, said President Vladimir Putin would be justified to use nukes in a first strike if Ukraine pushed further into its territory.

“Imagine if the … offensive, which is backed by NATO, was a success and they tore off a part of our land then we would be forced to use a nuclear weapon,” he wrote.

“There would simply be no other option,” he maintained.

“So our enemies should pray for our warriors’ (success). They are making sure that a global nuclear fire is not ignited.”

CHILD AMONG FIVE KILLED IN UKRAINE

A missile strike on a residential building in Ukraine has killed five and wounded dozens, as Russia said it stepped up strikes against Ukrainian military facilities in response to attacks on its territory, including Moscow.

Two missiles landed close to the centre of Kryvyi Rig just after 9am local time on Monday, Ukrainian interior minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.

Among the dead were a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother, while 64 people were injured, according to local authorities.

“(Several) people may still remain under the rubble,” the head of the city’s military administration Oleksandr Vilkul said.

A nine-storey residential building partially destroyed as a result of Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rig, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

One of the strikes hit a large nine-storey residential apartment block, blasting a huge hole in the facade that destroyed flats on several floors and sparked a fire.

Firefighters were using a cherry-picker crane to direct jets of water at the fire, while the emergency ministry said part of the building had collapsed while rubble was being cleared.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was born and grew up in Kryvyi Rig, said Russians were “continuing to terrorise peaceful cities and people”.

A policeman walks past a children's playground in front of a destroyed residential building following a Russian strike, in the city of Kryvyi Rig. Picture: AFP

The strikes also hit a crossroads and an educational building, Zelenskyy said. Vilkul said the second damaged building was part of the Kryvyi Rig Professional College of National University of Economics and Management.

As the toll of the strike rose, Russia said it had intensified attacks on military infrastructure in Ukraine after increasingly frequent drone assaults blamed on Kyiv.

Firefighters (L) working on a fire in a nine-storey residential building partially destroyed as a result of Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rig. Picture: AFP

Rescuers carry a body local resident from a nine-storey residential building partially destroyed as a result of Russian missiles strike in Kryvyi Rig. Picture: AFP

“Against the background of the failure of the so-called ‘counteroffensive’, Kyiv … has focused on carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure,” Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday.

In response, “the intensity of our strikes against Ukrainian military facilities … has been considerably increased,” Shoigu said.

Meanwhile, shelling by Kyiv’s armed forces killed two people and wounded six in Ukraine’s eastern city of Donetsk, which is controlled by Russian forces, Moscow-installed authorities said.

“A bus was destroyed by the shelling … Two people died and six were wounded,” the Russian-installed head of the Donetsk region Denis Pushilin said on Telegram.

Russian forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks in the east and south of the country, while it continued its own offensive around Kupiansk, the defence ministry said in its daily briefing.

Police officers stand guard near a residential building partially destroyed as a result of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rig which killed five including a 10-year-old. Picture: AFP

Russia described a recent Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow as an “act of desperation” due to “setbacks” on the battlefield, according to AFP.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that the counteroffensive was not a success and that it was “very difficult” for Ukrainian forces on the frontline.

“In an act of desperation, the regime in Kyiv is turning to such terrorist attacks. All possible measures have been taken to defend civil infrastructure against Ukrainian strikes,” Peskov said.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian shelling killed two people and wounded six more in Ukraine’s eastern city of Donetsk which is controlled by Russian forces.

“This morning the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the centre of Donetsk,” the Russian-installed head of the Donetsk region Denis Pushilin said on Telegram.

“A bus was destroyed by the shelling … Two people died and six were wounded.”

On Monday morning, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said that two people were killed after a Russian missile attack on central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig.

UKRAINE LAUNCHES DRONE ATTACK ON MOSCOW

Ukraine’s drones unleashed chaos in the heart of Moscow’s business district in a three-pronged attack.

Fireballs erupted in major buildings while skyscrapers were shattered by the strikes in the early hours of Sunday local time, just kilometres from the Kremlin.

According to The Sun, chilling screams were heard as explosions ripped through several floors of two major office blocks, appearing to cause catastrophic damage.

A security guard was wounded and unconfirmed reports said a 21-year-old woman was injured. There have not been reports of any other casualties.

The first of two drones struck at 3.20am local time.

A view of a damaged office block of the Moscow International Business Center (Moskva City) following a reported drone attack. Picture: AFP

It slammed into the 50-storey IQ Quarter Tower, one of the most prominent buildings in the business district called Moscow City.

Residential apartments and penthouses are also part of the high-rise hub that was rocked by the strikes.

Footage then captured the aftermath of the second drone attack, which struck the Oko-2 skyscraper at 4.10am.

In one clip, two panic-stricken women can be heard gasping as they watch an incoming drone grow closer, saying: “It flies so quick!”

Another video shot from the Presnenskaya Embankment shows one of the drones crash into a building, as a woman shouts: “Mummy!”

A firefighter walks among papers and broken glass outside a damaged office block that houses a government ministry. Picture: AFP

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin downplayed the attacks, saying the facades of two buildings were “slightly damaged”, despite the scenes of destruction.

The Russian defence ministry claimed that the two drones had lost control when they were jammed by electronic warfare technology.

It alleged that the other was shot down, while describing the incident as an “attempted terrorist attack”.

Multiple ambulances were at the scene, close to the headquarters of the Russian government.

One of the buildings struck by the drones houses the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Ministry of Digital Development, Telecommunications and Mass Media’s office, part of Putin’s propaganda edifice, is also based here.

Government documentation from the ministries was strewn across the debris-littered street below after the attack.

A source said: “The glazing was shattered as a result of the blast at the level of fifth and sixth floors of the 50-story building on Presnenskaya embankment.”

💥 Moscow under attack: A drone can be heard flying into a building resulting in a massive explosion this morning.
'Moscow City' is a very high-end business district just 2.8 miles from the Kremlin. (4.5km) Multiple drone strikes reported. pic.twitter.com/hPduDET75M

— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) July 30, 2023

CRIMEA UNDER FIRE

Reports of an intense drone attack on annexed Crimea also surfaced, although Ukraine have not yet commented on any strikes.

The disputed region’s defence ministry claimed that 25 drones had been repelled.

A statement said: “Sixteen Ukrainian UAVs were destroyed by air defence fire.

“Another nine Ukrainian drones were suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed in the waters of the Black Sea and Cape Tarkhankut without reaching their target.

A view of a damaged office block of the Moscow International Business Centre following a reported drone attack in Moscow on July 30. Picture: AFP

Crimea has been targeted by Kyiv throughout Moscow’s Ukraine offensive but has come under more intense, increased attacks in recent weeks.

Kyiv has repeatedly said it plans to take Crimea back.

The attacks on Moscow come several weeks into a Ukrainian counteroffensive to claw back territory captured by Russia since large-scale hostilities erupted in February 2022.

Russia’s foreign ministry has said such attacks “would not be possible without the help provided to the Kyiv regime by the US and its NATO allies”.

On Friday, Russia said it had intercepted two missiles over its southern Rostov region bordering Ukraine, with at least 16 people wounded by debris falling on the city of Taganrog.

Shortly after, it said it had downed a second S-200 missile near the city of Azov, with debris falling in an unpopulated area.

On the other side of the border, a Russian strike killed two people in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Saturday, authorities there said.

And at least one civilian was killed in a missile attack on the northeastern city of Sumy, according to Ukrainian national police, who added that there were five injured.

In early July, a Russian drone attack hit an apartment building in the same city, killing three and wounding 21.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to intensify efforts against Russia and bring the war to Moscow. Picture: AFP

‘WAR COMING TO RUSSIA’: ZELENSKYY

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Sunday that “war” was coming to Russia after three Ukrainian drones were downed over Moscow.

“Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia – to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process,” Zelenskyy said on a visit to the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk.

“Ukraine is getting stronger,” he added, warning however that the country should prepare for new attack on energy infrastructure in winter.

“But we must be aware that, just as last year, Russian terrorists can still attack our energy sector and critical facilities this winter,” Zelenskyy said, adding that preparations for “all possible scenarios” were discussed in Ivano-Frankivsk.

Zelenskyy spoke after three Ukrainian drones struck Moscow early on Sunday, the Russian defence ministry said.

Separately, Moscow said on Sunday its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to attack Russia-annexed Crimea with 25 drones overnight.

The attacks reported Sunday were the latest in a series of recent drone assaults – including on the Kremlin and Russian towns near the border with Ukraine – that Moscow has blamed on Kyiv.