The Mayor of Moscow, the Russian capital, Sergey Sobyanin announced the ban on Wednesday, shortly after Kremlin accused Ukraine of attempting to launch a drone attack on the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, RT reports.
As the war between Russia and Ukraine enters a new critical phase, Moscow’s authorities have banned the unauthorised use of drones indefinitely.
The Mayor of Moscow, the Russian capital, Sergey Sobyanin announced the ban on Wednesday, shortly after Kremlin accused Ukraine of attempting to launch a drone attack on the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, RT reports.
It said the assassination attempt failed because they were disabled by electronic defences.
Sobyanin announced the new measure in a Telegram message, adding that the flying of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Russian capital would be prohibited starting from today (Wednesday), with an exception being made for drones used with the authorities’ approval.
“This decision was taken in order to prevent unauthorized use of UAVs, which could hamper the work of law enforcement agencies,” the mayor explained, reminding his audience that anyone who breaks this rule could face administrative and criminal liability.
The announcement was made as the Kremlin press service reported that overnight Kiev forces attempted to strike Putin’s residence by using two drones.
The service noted that the Russian leader was not hurt by what it described as “a terrorist act”.
Russian authorities also said the drones did not cause any other casualties or damage.
The war between the two countries started more than a year ago.
In late April, Ukraine claimed it was behind the attack on an oil terminal in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, which destroyed four oil tanks, according to local authorities. Kiev stated then that the raid was meant to lay the ground for a much-talked-about Ukrainian spring counteroffensive.
That same month Russian media reported that a drone, allegedly of Ukrainian design and carrying about 17kg of explosives, crashed not far from Moscow after running out of fuel.
Meanwhile, Kremlin has maintained that it now has the right to strike any target in retaliation to the failed assassination attempt on President Putin henceforth.