Drone attack in Moscow leaves buildings damaged

New this morning, the Russian capital got a first-hand feeling of war after an alleged

drone

attack

. A column of smoke is seen rising. And look at this. In fact, you can see a

drone

flying over the city while a man points out of his window. And here, what appears to be a fragment of a downed drone. Russian state media says two people were injured in Moscow and three residential

buildings

were

damaged

in the

attack

. Russian military officials blame Ukraine for this, something Ukraine of course denies for the attack. However, it came just hours after another airstrike on kyiv.

Ukrainian authorities say one woman has died. 13 people injured. There have been 17 attacks on kyiv. So far this month, just before that planned counteroffensive we've been talking so much about. Officials also just released this body camera video of police responding to one of those attacks. It gives you a real-time view of the daily reality of war here, as officers are there to help wounded civilians. Let's now bring in CNN's Fred Pleitgen, who is live in eastern Ukraine for us this morning. First, Fred, what else are we hearing about this attack on Moscow? Hello, poppy. Well, certainly the Russians are quite shocked by this attack that occurred there in Moscow.

And one of the things that they're obviously doing, as you may have noticed, is blaming, as they say, the kyiv regime obviously blaming Ukraine. Some of those images that came out of Russia certainly looked pretty dramatic with that person pointing at that drone. Now, the Russians say that all the UAVs, as they say, the drones that were sent towards Moscow were out of service. They say several were shot down by electronic countermeasures that knocked them off course and then crashed. But they also say that in five cases they needed to activate their air defenses and shoot them down with short-range air defense systems.

All the most powerful air defense system. However, there have been several Russian politicians who have come out and said, look, we think this could be our new reality. This could be because the ongoing war in Ukraine may also reach Moscow. But obviously, many residents of that city are also quite shocked. This happened in the early hours of the morning today and is definitely not something the Russians have seen before as this civil war continues. Guys, can you tell us more about the overnight strikes in kyiv, Fred? Yes Yes. In fact, I am at the scene of one of the attacks that took place in kyiv.

Overnight. And I can tell you that we were actually in kyiv. We are not in eastern Ukraine. And the night was definitely not quiet. I mean, it's been several hours since we heard drones in the air all the time. And those shadow drones made in Iran where you can see the engine howling all the time. And then you could also hear the sound of machine guns as the Ukrainians tried to shoot them down. Where we are now, substantial damage can be seen after one of these drones hit here. You can see that the cleaning is already underway.

And I just want to ask our cameraman, Biden, and he's going to get better right now. And you can see that he actually impacted there on the first of the top two floors of that building. That's absolutely significant, guys. Because even though the Russians re-fired dozens of drones or sent them to the capital kyiv, the Ukrainians say they have now managed to shoot down most of the drones. What you're seeing there, the Ukrainians are actually seeing damage caused by a drone that was down and then the debris hit this building and caused the explosion that you saw there, unfortunately, in this building.

A woman was murdered. I was able to talk to the mayor of kyiv about this right here a couple of minutes ago. This is what he said. In reality, we may have many attacks on our cities, not just the capital of Ukraine. Also in another city. And many people killed the mayor of kyiv, Vitaly Klitschko, of course, also the former boxing champion. He was on the scene here from the beginning. And, of course, there are no quiet nights here. And I would say this is the third major missile and drone attack that we've had here in the city in the past. 30 to 36 hours, some of them with drones and cruise missiles, some of them also with ballistic missiles.

So right now, the Ukrainian capital is really feeling it and a lot of people here are obviously showing a lot of resilience, guys. Fred Pleitgen lives for us in kyiv, thank you very much. Well, all this happens when President Lenski now says that he has made a decision on the timing of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Italian austerity, the commander in chief and the commanders of the operational directorates informed the south, not only the supply of ammunition , not only the training of new brigades, not only our tactics, not tactics, but also the timing. This is the most important.

The moment of how we will move forward. We will do it. The decisions have been made. We are joined now by the CNN military analyst, former member of the Joint Chief of Staff of the Pentagon. Retired Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel. It's always good to see you. As we listen to what we heard from President Zelensky in that late-night speech, the fact that he says they now have the moment, he doesn't say what that moment is for obvious reasons, but that the moment is already decided. What does this tell you in terms of where things are for this counteroffensive?

How quickly could it happen? Well, good morning, Eric. He actually tells me that they have finalized his plans. They are moving forward in a fairly methodical manner and they are doing so in a way that will allow them to move forces where they need them. Now, the only thing they don't have is strategic surprise, but they do have tactical surprise. They can move forces where necessary. The Russians, of course, will be watching them from an intelligence perspective. But they will be able to do some things that will keep the Russians guessing. But it is clear that a timetable has been set.

And we should see some things, maybe not like D-Day in World War II, but we will see some things that indicate an offensive is coming. I'm interested in why Zelensky would have said that, that we have decided on a deadline, we have one. Why would I say that? Why would you make that statement? Poppy, I think it's the messages. I think it's also psychological. And what he is trying to do is tell the Russian side that if we come after you, we will get you out of our country. But on the other hand, it still keeps you guessing, even though he has made some pretty emphatic statements here.

He keeps them guessing when and where this is actually going to happen. And they could even be locations in the sense that he could use multiple areas to mount certain types of attacks. We have seen this litany of attacks in code. But we are also seeing attacks that reach as far as Moscow, to Russian officials like Fred Pleitgen does. Fred Pleitgen, excuse me, just said it, saying that they think this could be his new reality. How are you reading that this morning? How are you reading those attacks? Yes, they are very interesting because generally what they use are drones that are actually Soviet-era drones that have been modified by the Ukrainians.

So the Ukrainians are not violating any promise they have made to the West, and the United States in particular, not to use weapons supplied by the United States or the West to attack Russia itself. But they are still doing it. And it's not exactly, you know, burning down Russia, to borrow a phrase from Churchill. But what they are doing is actually going ahead and telling the Russian population that they are at risk of some kind of attack. It's obviously not as bad or as severe as the attacks on kyiv, but it is clearly something that puts people at risk.

And it is a warning. One question and this whole kind of bigger picture, Colonel, what is China's role? Can China be a moderating force? They've said it, but there are real questions about what that would look like and where their alliance would be. The fact that, given that the Chinese government is refusing to sit down with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, basically saying, no, you can't meet with your counterpart at this security forum taking place this week in Singapore, reminds me of What Lloyd Austin told Caitlyn in his interview months ago after the spy balloon said that basically the Chinese didn't answer the phone.

It doesn't seem like things have improved since then. How does that influence what is happening in Russia and Ukraine? Yes, that is certainly true. Things haven't gotten better. And it seems as if China and Russia are basically in agreement when it comes to the diplomatic aspect of this. And I think what the Chinese are not doing in this particular case is taking the opportunity to play the role of mediator or at least appear to be playing the role of mediator. The mere fact that they are not meeting with Secretary Austin is an indication that they are not really interested in being mediators.

They are more interested in supporting Putin. And that will limit its effectiveness with Ukraine and will limit its effectiveness with other Western countries. Colonel Cedric Leighton, we always appreciate your understanding. Thank you.