On Wednesday, Russia accused Ukraine of using drones to strike the Kremlin overnight in an unsuccessful bid to assassinate President Vladimir Putin.
The most dramatic charge Russia has brought against Ukraine since invading its neighbour more than 14 months ago was denied by a top member in the Ukrainian presidential administration.
According to the Kremlin, electronic defences prevented two drones from being utilised in the claimed attack on Putin’s apartment within the fortified Kremlin bastion.
It was implied that Moscow would exploit the purported event to justify escalating its war with Ukraine when it declared Russia maintained the right to react.
“The Kremlin was the target of two unmanned aerial vehicles. As a result of rapid thinking.
We consider these acts to be premeditated acts of terrorism and an attempt on the president’s life, committed on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 Parade, where the participation of international dignitaries is also anticipated…
The right to take retaliatory action is reserved by the Russian side, as it deems proper.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser, said the claim that Kyiv was responsible for the attack and the Russian detention of accused Ukrainian saboteurs may be signs that Moscow was getting ready to launch a significant “terrorist” operation against Ukraine in the coming days.
Of all, the drone assaults on the Kremlin have nothing to do with Ukraine. First and foremost, attacking the Kremlin does not accomplish any military objectives, according to Podolyak.
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 Senate building overlooking Red Square — site of the Victory Day parade — and exploding in an intense burst of light just before reaching it. Reuters could not immediately verify the video’s authenticity.
The statement from the presidential administration said fragments of the drones had been scattered on the territory of the Kremlin complex, but there were no casualties or material damage.
According to the report Putin had not been in the Kremlin at the time, and was working on Wednesday at his Novo Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow.
Victory Day, an important national festival that celebrates the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, provides Putin with an opportunity to rally the Russian people behind what he refers to as his “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The event is celebrated in Russia with a huge military parade in Red Square, where seating has already been set up.
The parade, for which the Kremlin this week pledged increased security, will still go place, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
Earlier on Wednesday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the city has put an immediate stop to unauthorised drone flying.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out a number of cross-border attacks, including strikes in December on an air base located deeply within Russian territory that is home to strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons. A drone crashed near Kolomna in February, some 110 kilometres from Moscow’s city core.
acts on Russia or Crimea that have been annexed by Russia are often not claimed by Ukraine, despite the fact that Kyiv authorities have repeatedly praised such acts with cryptic or sarcastic statements.
