“Calm and security”: residents of Moscow claim to have put up with the drone attacks which target the Russian capital almost every day, illustrating the detachment of the population vis-à-vis the conflict in Ukraine.
In the city center, flooded with sunshine on this beautiful August day, it is hard to imagine that a few hundred kilometers away, Russia is relentlessly bombarding its Ukrainian neighbor.
In Moscow, under the leadership of the authorities, normalcy continues to dominate, despite a year and a half of fighting and probably tens of thousands of deaths.
And that has hardly changed even if the Russian capital has been targeted ever more regularly by drones since the spring.
So far, these have caused no casualties and only limited damage, but an escalation is underway, given the regularity with which devices come to break the glass facades of the proud skyscrapers of the business district. Moscow-City.
For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the conflict has now reached Russian territory, something “absolutely right”.
Not enough to disconcert the Muscovites questioned on Monday.
“I’m not afraid,” said Tigran, a 40-year-old architect, sunglasses on his nose, interviewed by AFP in front of a cafe.
He is satisfied with the little damage caused by these machines. “I feel very calm and generally safe,” he says without flinching.
His assurance is shared by other Muscovites, concerned above all with continuing their normal lives.
“There are enough troops and equipment” to counter the attacks, judge Konstantin, a 70-year-old pensioner.
Only one thing is bothering him, his GPS, which has worked less well since these attacks have multiplied, no doubt due to Russian defensive jamming.
“Moving around Moscow without a satellite navigator is difficult. And the rest doesn’t matter.”
For Russian analysts, the scale of these attacks remains far too low to be able to weigh.
“Of course the authorities want to minimize (the effect) and stop” the attacks, notes the pro-Kremlin military expert, Alexandre Khramchikhine.
But above all, he says, “the scale of these events is not sufficient to seriously worry the population of a megalopolis, these attacks have a microscopic effect for a city with a population of at least 12 million. residents”.
Same analysis for Vassili Kashin, director of a geopolitical research center at the High School of Economics in Moscow.
“Probably (these attacks) are aimed at bolstering the morale (of the Ukrainians). That’s all,” he said, noting that Ukraine is hit by deadly missiles every day.
“The relationship to war has not changed with the drones over Moscow, or else this will lead to calls for an even tougher war,” continues the expert.
The few details available on the attacks nevertheless leave some Muscovites dumbfounded: how can planes taking off from Ukraine evade anti-aircraft defense for hundreds of kilometers? Could they be launched from Russian territory?
“There are people who betray their homeland,” insists Venera, 50, advancing his theory that it is “compatriots” who are helping Ukraine attack Moscow from Russian soil. “It’s sabotage!” she says.
Venera therefore confesses that deep down she is afraid. And “I think everyone is afraid and (…) wants peace, for the war to end”.
08/31/2023 17:44:04 – Moscow (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
