Global Courant 2023-05-04 15:20:27
Russia claimed on Thursday that the United States was behind an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin, which it said was a Ukrainian attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin.
The accusation, made without citing evidence, comes less than 24 hours after Moscow said it had thwarted a nighttime drone attack on the building that serves as the heart of the country’s government and Putin’s residence – something that Kyiv has criticized. vehemently denied.
Three US officials told NBC News on Wednesday that the US had no prior knowledge of any attack.
But on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov went further, claiming Washington was the mastermind behind the incident.
“We are well aware that decisions about such a level of terrorist attacks are not made in Kiev, but in Washington,” he said in his daily briefing with reporters. “Kiev only does what it has to do.”
Peskov dismissed US and Ukrainian attempts to “disown” the drone incident as “absolutely ridiculous”.
A Russian investigation into the incident is underway, he said, adding that there are “multiple response options” the country could take, without specifying what they are. The Russian Security Council, chaired by Putin, will meet on Friday.
“We are not attacking Putin or Moscow,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.
“We are fighting on our own territory and defending our towns and cities,” he said at a press conference in Finland. “We don’t have enough weapons even for this. That’s why we don’t use them elsewhere. We’re short. We cannot use everything and everywhere.”
Russia has often accused the US of making important decisions for Ukraine during the war. Putin, his officials and state media have repeatedly said that Russia is at war with the entire NATO alliance. NATO’s expansion into Central and Eastern Europe was one of the pretexts for the invasion of Russia.
The US has given Ukraine more than $77 billion in military and humanitarian aid, but has tried to ensure that its weapons were not used in attacks on Russian soil.
The alleged drone strike followed a spate of recent incidents in the country as both sides seemingly target locations ahead of an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive.
This is an evolving story. Check back here for updates.
