Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Ukraine was trying to "frighten" Russians after Moscow and the surrounding region were hit by eight drones in an attack blamed on Kyiv.

"We have spoken about hitting command centres (in Ukraine). In response, the Kyiv regime has chosen a different path, the path of trying to frighten Russia, frighten the citizens of Russia and of strikes on residential buildings," Putin said.  

Speaking on television, the Russian leader said Moscow's air defence had worked well during the unprecedented attack on the capital.

"Moscow's air defence system worked normally, satisfactorily, although there is some work to do," Putin said on Russian television.

Scholz condemns Russian strikes on Ukraine 'civilian targets'                              

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz slammed fresh Russian strikes on "Ukrainian civilian targets" in a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, his office said in a statement.

Scholz "condemns the latest Russian air raids on Ukrainian civilian targets and underlines our steadfast solidarity with Ukraine in the face of the Russian Federation's aggression," said the statement, which made no mention of the unprecedented drone strikes on residential buildings in Moscow Tuesday.