Zelensky After Ukraine’s Drone, Missile Attacks: ‘War Is Returning to Russia’s Territory’

With the constant back-and-forth of missile and drone attacks between Russia and Ukraine, the Kremlin said Monday (July 31) it was ramping up its air defenses. The announcement followed a new wave of drone attacks inside the country, the latest of which was in the southern city of Taganrog last Friday (July 28).

"Given the evolving situation, additional measures have been taken to improve defenses against air and sea-based attacks," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told a military conference Monday.

Shoigu returned to Moscow after attending North Korea's "Victory Day" parade last week. Video footage from North Korean state media showed Shoigu standing beside North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov downplayed Ukraine's missile and drone strikes as a purportedly "disgusting" manifestation of Kyiv's "terrorist nature," NBC reported.

Zelensky: 'The War Returns to Russia'

However, officials in Kyiv accused the Kremlin of carrying out equally deadly attacks on civilians in the heart of the country in retaliation to the strike on Moscow Sunday (July 30), which resulted in one person getting injured as well as the closure of Moscow's airspace.

The attack came hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a naval parade in St. Petersburg

"Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address Sunday, "to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process."

Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky's hometown, was hit in the latest strike exchange between the two countries Monday, resulting in the death of four people, including a 10-year-old child, and left over 30 others injured, according to a Ukrainian post in Telegram.

In response, Zelensky also took to Telegram to say Russia was "stubbornly attacking" cities, as well as civilian infrastructures and housing.