Global Courant 2023-05-03 18:59:13
Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of a nighttime drone attack on the Kremlin in a failed attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin.
A senior Ukrainian presidential official said Kiev had nothing to do with the alleged incident, the most dramatic accusation Russia has leveled against Ukraine since it invaded its neighbor more than 14 months ago.
The Kremlin said two drones had been used in the alleged attack on Putin’s residence in the Kremlin’s walled citadel, but had been disabled by electronic defenses.
It said Russia reserves the right to retaliate – a comment that suggested Moscow could use the alleged incident to justify further escalation in its war with Ukraine.
“Two unmanned aerial vehicles targeted the Kremlin. Due to timely actions by the army and special services using radar warfare systems, the devices were put out of action,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“We consider these actions to be a planned act of terrorism and an attempt on the president’s life, carried out on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 parade, which is also scheduled to include the presence of foreign guests…
“The Russian side reserves the right to retaliate as and when it deems necessary.”
Ukraine issues denial
Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in comments to Reuters that the allegation that Kiev was behind the attack, as well as Russia’s arrest of alleged Ukrainian saboteurs, could indicate that Moscow is preparing for a large-scale “terrorist” attack on Ukraine in the coming days.
“Ukraine, of course, has nothing to do with drone attacks on the Kremlin. We are not attacking the Kremlin because it does not solve military tasks in the first place,” Podolyak said.
Baza, a Telegram channel with links to Russia’s law enforcement agencies, posted a video showing a flying object approaching the dome of the Kremlin’s Senate building that overlooks Red Square — the site of the Victory Day celebrations. parade – and explodes in an intense flash of light just before it reaches the city. It. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the authenticity of the video.
The statement from the presidential administration said that fragments of the drones were scattered over the territory of the Kremlin complex, but there were no casualties or property damage.
Putin outside Moscow: report
The RIA news agency said Putin was not at the Kremlin at the time and was working at his Novo Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow on Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks with Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor Gleb Nikitin during their meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow on May 3, 2023. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo/The Associated Press )
Another video circulating on Russian social media appeared to show a plume of smoke over the Kremlin after the alleged attack.
The video was posted to an internet group for residents of a neighborhood overlooking the Kremlin across the Moskva River in the early hours of Wednesday. It was picked up by Russian media, including the Telegram channel of the Zvezda military news outlet.
Victory Day is a major holiday commemorating Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II and a chance for Putin to support the Russians behind what he calls his “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Russia is marking the occasion with a huge military parade on Red Square, for which seats have already been set up.
The state news agency TASS said the parade — for which the Kremlin announced tighter security last week — will continue.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said earlier on Wednesday that the city had introduced an immediate ban on unauthorized drone flights.
Russia has accused Ukraine of numerous cross-border attacks since the start of the war, including attacks in December against an air base deep in Russian territory that houses strategic bombers equipped to carry nuclear weapons. In February, a drone crashed in Kolomna, about 110 kilometers from the center of Moscow.
Ukraine typically refuses to claim responsibility for attacks on Russia or Russian-annexed Crimea, though Kiev officials have often celebrated such attacks with cryptic or mocking remarks.
