The Russian government reported that a supposed attack on the Kremlin occurred in the early hours of Wednesday (3). Two “unmanned aerial vehicles” (drones) were intercepted and destroyed before causing any damage, the government stated. Later, images of the alleged attack began to appear on social media.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was not in the building at the time, according to the Kremlin spokesperson.
The Kremlin blamed Ukraine, describing the alleged drone attack as an “attempt on the president’s life.”
In a statement, the Kremlin said: “We view these actions as a planned terrorist attack and an assassination attempt,” adding that “Russia reserves the right to take countermeasures wherever and whenever it deems appropriate.”
On Thursday (4), Russia also claimed that the U.S. was involved in the attack. “Without a doubt, such decisions, the definition of targets, the definition of means – all of this is dictated by Washington to Kiev,” said Peskov.
Both allegations have been denied by Kiev and Washington.
“We did not attack Putin or Moscow,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky during a press conference in Helsinki on Wednesday (3).
“We fight on our territory, we defend our villages and cities. We do not have enough weapons for that. That is why we do not use it elsewhere,” Zelensky said. “We do not attack Putin. We leave that to the courts,” he added.
John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the National Security Council, called Russia’s claim that the U.S. ordered Ukraine to carry out such an attack “ridiculous.”
Who else could be responsible?
If Ukraine was not the perpetrator of this alleged attack, one possibility is that the incident was the work of Russian guerrillas – as claimed by a former Russian parliament member linked to militant groups in Russia.
However, Moscow has already launched a wave of missiles at Kiev following the incident.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials have previously warned that Russia was planning so-called “false flag” attacks along the Russia-Ukraine border as a pretext for military escalation.
Source: CNN