Drone attacks that shook Moscow showed Russians they can no longer trust Putin to protect them, expert says

• Drones hit residential buildings in Moscow for the first time in its war with Ukraine.
• It was a stark and jarring moment even though the damage itself on Tuesday was minimal.

A salvo of drones that hit Moscow on Tuesday morning broke the sense of peace that had lasted in the city despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its ongoing war.

Russia's defense ministry said eight drones were launched against the the capital city on Tuesday morning, and three of them hit residential buildings. Some Russian reports said there were even more drones.

The damage itself was superficial, with officials reporting no serious injuries. But the psychological effect of the capital coming under attack for the first time may be significant, and unwelcome for President Vladimir Putin.

Dr. Stephen Hall, a Russia expert at the University of Bath, told Insider that Tuesday "certainly has brought the war to the streets in Moscow like nothing else."

He noted that Moscow's streets have enjoyed peace since the end of World War II, "so to be attacked by drone is particularly frightening."

He said that ordinary people in Moscow have mostly been able to ignore the war, but the events of Tuesday were a stark reminder.

Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said on Telegram that two people had light injuries and that the buildings were damaged. The strike was nothing compared with the regular bombardment of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital.

Russia said its air defenses blunted the strike, claiming some drones were shot down and other missed their mark.

It wasn't clear who sent the drones or what specifically they were targeting.

Ukraine denied sending the drones in response to an accusation from Russia. Officials in Kyiv usually say attacks on Russia are nothing to do with them, even when experts say they probably were responsible.

Hall said that a pronounced backlash in Moscow was unlikely — predicting that people will "probably just keep their heads down" as they mostly have through the war so far.

But, he said, "there will be an increased perception that the war is not going well and the Russian government is unable to protect its capital city — which is a shocking state of affairs if you think about it — and that the war has come back to Moscow."

Russia's recent strikes on Kyiv were far heavier than the damage in Moscow. Ukrainian authorities said there were three attacks on Kyiv across Monday and Tuesday that killed at least one person.

But, Hall said, the Moscow blasts were likely to have the greater effect because of the contrast to life before.

Other recent attacks on Russian soil — which Ukraine has also said were not its responsibility — have been closer to Ukrainian territory.

"But Moscow is completely different. Moscow is the capital of Russia, which perceives itself as a great country, rightly or wrongly." He also noted that Moscow is hundreds of miles from any fighting on the ground.

"So for the Ukrainians — if it is the Ukrainians, we still don't know, but let's hypothetically say it is the Ukrainians — for the Ukrainians to target it is a huge achievement and it brings the war that much closer."

Hall also said that the effect on residents is likely the same regardless of who is behind the attack.

"They'll go about their everyday lives, but certainly there will be this fear that their government can't protect them, that the capital is no longer as safe as it was, and they can't live with their heads in the sand anymore."

He also said that Russian state media has been relatively "silent" about the incident: "This also highlights that I think the regime is a little bit scared."