Russia blames US and Ukraine for Kremlin drone attack

Europe, News May 5, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Moscow has accused Kyiv and Washington of a failed attempt to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 3, 2023. Russia released dramatic footage that shows at least one unidentified drone hitting the flagpole on top of the Kremlin’s Senate House, where Putin’s office is located.

Russia said that two unmanned aerial vehicles were targeted toward Kremlin on May 3, 2023. “As a result of timely actions taken by the military and special services with the use of radar warfare systems, the devices were put out of action,” Kremlin said in an official statement.

The incident comes at a time when Moscow is preparing for the May 9 Victory Day Parade. Every year, Russia organizes a military parade in Moscow to mark the Soviet victory in World War II. “We regard these actions as a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the president’s life, carried out on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 Parade, at which the presence of foreign guests is also planned,” the Kremlin statement added.

The statement also said that President Putin was safe during the drone attack as he was not in the office at the time of the attack but working at his Novo Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. “The Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it sees fit,” the Kremlin added.

Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov immediately blamed Ukraine for carrying out “a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the life of the president.” He also accused the U.S. of facilitating and enabling Kyiv to attack the Kremlin. “We know very well that decisions about such actions, about such terrorist attacks, are made not in Kyiv but in Washington,” Peskov told reporters.

^{A still image taken from video shows a flying object exploding in an intense burst of light near the dome of the Kremlin Senate building during the alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, in this image taken from video obtained by Reuters May 3, 2023. (Image Credit: Ostorozhno Novosti/via Reuters)}

Ukraine has denied any involvement in the alleged assassination attempt on the Russian President. Ukrainian Presidential Spokesperson Sergiy Nykyforov said that “As President Zelensky has stated numerous times before, Ukraine uses all means at its disposal to free its territory, not to attack others.”

“We don’t attack Putin or Moscow, we fight on our territory,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told during a press conference during a visit to Finland. The Ukrainian President visited Finland on May 4, to meet the Nordic leaders. He is also visiting the Netherlands to visit the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, which issues an arrest warrant against the Russian President Putin earlier this year.

The U.S. has also dismissed Russia’s accusation. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that “The United States has nothing to do with it. We do not even know exactly what happened here, but I can assure you the United States had no role in it whatsoever.” He said that Russia’s claims are “ludicrous” and that Kremlin is “just lying”.

Deputy Head of Russia’s Security Council and former President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said the incident “leaves us no option but to physically eliminate Zelenskiy and his clique”. Russia’s foreign ministry also said the alleged drone attack “must not go unanswered”.