By David Rising, KYIV Ukraine
Russia claimed it foiled an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Kremlin early Wednesday, calling it an unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin and promising retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act. The Ukrainian president denied it, saying: “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow.”
Putin wasn’t in the Kremlin at
the time and was at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, his spokesman
Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.
There was no independent
verification of the purported attack, which Russia authorities said occurred
overnight but presented no evidence to support it. Questions also arose as to
why it took the Kremlin hours to report the incident and why videos of it also
surfaced later in the day.
A video posted overnight on a
local Moscow news Telegram channel, shot from across the river from the
Kremlin, appeared to show smoke rising over the buildings. It wasn’t possible
to ascertain its veracity. According to text accompanying the footage,
residents of a nearby apartment building reported hearing bangs and seeing
smoke around 2:30 a.m.
Another video on social media,
which looks to be taken from across Red Square, appears to show the moment a
drone explodes in a flash of fire above the roof of the Senate Palace in the
Kremlin, near a flagpole flying the Russian tricolor, with debris falling on
the roof. It also was not possible to independently verify this footage.
The Kremlin said Russian
military and security forces had stopped the drones before they could strike.
Nobody was hurt, it added. Its official website said debris from the drones
fell on the Kremlin grounds without damage.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
on an unannounced visit to Helsinki for talks with the leaders of five Nordic
countries, denied any role.
“We don’t attack Putin or
Moscow. We fight on our territory. We’re defending our villages and cities,” he
said at a news conference.
Ukraine presidential adviser
Mykhailo Podolyak said the claims could provide a pretext for Russia “to
justify massive strikes on Ukrainian cities, on the civilian population, on
infrastructure facilities.”
White House press secretary
Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. was “unable to confirm the authenticity” of
Russia’s claim.
Asked whether the U.S.
believed Putin was a lawful target of any potential Ukrainian strike,
Jean-Pierre said that since the start of the conflict, the U.S. was “not
encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its border.”
U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan
Haq said that the United Nations “is not in a position to confirm these
reports. We strongly reiterate our call on all concerned to refrain from any
rhetoric or action that could further escalate the conflict,” Haq said.
The purported drone attack
would be a significant escalation in the 14-month conflict, with
Ukraine taking the war to the heart of Russian power.
Phillips O’Brien, professor of
strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, said, “It certainly wasn’t
an attempt to assassinate Putin, because he doesn’t sleep in the roof and he
probably never sleeps in the Kremlin.”
He added it was too soon to
prove or disprove whether it was a Russian attempt “either to make Ukraine look
reckless or to buck up Russian public opinion” or if it was a Ukrainian
operation to embarrass Russia.
James Nixey, director of the,
Russia and Eurasia program at the Chatham House think-tank, said “the two most
likely possibilities are a ‘warning shot across the bows’ by Kyiv or a false
flag operation by Moscow designed to justify more intense attacks in Ukraine or
more conscription.”
If it was a warning shot by
Kyiv, then it was “yet another shocking security lapse by the Russian state,”
he said.
“If it’s a false flag
operation by Moscow, then it reeks of desperation,” Nixey added. “And it’s a
high-risk strategy likely to be exposed, considering how poor their tradecraft
seems to be.”
The alleged attack prompted
calls in Russia from pro-Kremlin figures for assassinations of senior leaders
in Ukraine.
The Kremlin claimed the attack
was planned to disrupt Victory Day, which Russia celebrates in Red Square on
May 9 to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Peskov said
the parade would go on as scheduled.
Before the news about the
alleged attack broke, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin issued a ban on using drones
in the Russian capital, with an exception for those launched by authorities. He
gave no reason for the ban, saying only it would prevent the “illegal use of
drones that can hinder the work of law enforcement.”
Zelenskyy was in Finland
seeking greater firepower for his armed forces as they figure out how to
dislodge Russian troops from occupied areas of Ukraine.
Both Ukraine and Russia
reportedly have experienced ammunition shortages after a winter of long-range shelling
and missile strikes. Kyiv has been pressing its allies for more as officials
consider when to start driving Russian forces out of Ukrainian territory they
occupy.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s
counteroffensive is coming “very soon.”
This year “will be decisive …
for victory,” he said.
The Nordic countries —
Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland — have been among Kyiv’s strongest
backers since Russia
invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Before meeting Zelenskyy, Nordic
officials appeared ready to provide more aid.
“Here in the north, we have a
more unpredictable and aggressive Russian neighbor, and it is important that we
discuss together how to face this new situation,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas
Gahr Støre said.
In fighting Wednesday, 16
civilians were killed in a “massive attack” by Russian forces on southern
Kherson province, the Prosecutor General’s Office said.
Russian fire hit the train
station and the only open supermarket in the regional capital, also called
Kherson, killing 12 people and wounding 22, officials said. Three energy
workers died when they came under fire while making repairs north of the city.
The talks came a day after
U.S. officials said Washington plans to send Ukraine about
$300 million in additional military aid, including an enormous number of
artillery rounds, howitzers, air-to-ground rockets and ammunition.
The weapons will all be pulled
from Pentagon stocks, so they can go quickly to the front, according to the
officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid has not yet been
formally announced.
Elsewhere, Russia used
Iranian-made drones during its third attack on Kyiv in six days. Explosions
were heard in the capital and elsewhere during the night as Ukrainian air
defenses shot down 21 of the drones, Ukraine’s air force said. No damage or
casualties were reported
Meanwhile, a massive blaze
broke out at an Russian oil depot in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, east
of the Russian-held Crimean Peninsula, according to Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin
Kondratyev.
He didn’t say what caused it,
but some Russian media outlets said it was likely from a Ukrainian drone
attack. There was no official comment on that possibility.
Residents heard an explosion
shortly before the fire erupted, Russian news site Baza said.
Military analysts think
Ukraine is targeting Russian supply lines while gearing up for a possible counteroffensive
amid improving weather and as it receives more weapons and ammunition from the
West.
At the same time, Russia plans
to continue talks with the U.N. and other parties to an wartime
agreement on facilitating Black Sea agricultural shipments, Kremlin press
secretary Dmitry Peskov said ahead of talks on Friday.
Earlier Wednesday, Russian
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed new consultations
between Russia and the U.N. on access of Russian agricultural products and
fertilizers to the world market would be held in Moscow.
Signed in July and renewed
twice, the deal freed Ukrainian grain shipments that were held up in the
country’s blockaded ports last year. The deal expires May 18 unless Russia
agrees to its renewal.
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