Frustrated Russians living near the frontlines of the war celebrated Ukraine’s massive drone attack against Moscow, according to newly released calls intercepted by Kyiv.
After Kyiv fired 337 drones at Russia on March 11, with 91 flying over Moscow, residents living in the Belgorod and Bryansk oblasts appeared to rejoice that the Kremlin was finally coming face-to-face with the daily reality they’ve endured for more than three years, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR).
“So we can be f—king bombed, but Moscow Oblast is not? Let the bastards shut up and stay put!” one woman living in Bryansk said in an intercepted call, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Ukraine fired 91 drones at Moscow on March 11 in the largest assault against the capital city. MAXIM SHIPENKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Intercepted calls from cities along the frontlines revealed some Russians were happy Moscow was being attacked for a change. AP
Russian workers assess the damage from the drone strike in Moscow. AFP via Getty Images“They live their lives without fear, without knowing anything,” the caller on the other side of the line responded. “Let them be at least a little bit afraid.”
A pair of men in Belgorod were also heard expressing their own frustration after their TVs failed to work during the drone barrage.
“Let them bomb the Kremlin,” one of the men said.
“To hell with them. Let them [bomb],” the other replied.
Another woman in the oblast said she was tired of the near daily drone attacks and said Kyiv should’ve struck Moscow sooner and spared the other regions.
“They should have targeted Moscow right away to make them take action,” she said, adding: “Otherwise, poor people are suffering, and Moscow is dancing and singing.”
Residents react outside a building that was hit with a drone attack in Moscow on March 11. AFP via Getty Images“If they don’t take some measures, we’ll all be screwed,” she added about Russia’s defenses.
The March attack resulted in the deaths of two people in Russia, with Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin describing it as the “largest ever” on the Russian capital, according to state-run media outlet TASS.
The intercepted calls released by the HUR could not be independently verified.
The calls suggest that Russians living along the frontlines have grown infuriated over the ongoing war, with Belgorod recently coming under siege by Ukrainian troops.
Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected the latest US-backed cease-fire proposal on Tuesday. via REUTERSRussia rejected a US-backed cease-fire proposal on Tuesday, saying Moscow can’t accept the deal as it stands but is because it does not address their main demands.
“As far as we can see, there is no place in them today for our main demand, namely to solve the problems related to the root causes of this conflict. It is completely absent, and that must be overcome,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in a statement.
