Russia accuses Ukraine of attempted drone attack on Kremlin
Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting an overnight drone attack on the Kremlin with the aim of killing President Vladimir Putin.
The allegation was made on Wednesday by the Russian government and reported by several state news agencies.
Putin was not injured and there was no material damage to the Kremlin buildings, Russian officials said.
The Kremlin warned that Russia reserves the right to retaliate and that it viewed the alleged assault as a “terrorist” attack.
“The Kremlin has assessed these actions as a planned terrorist act and an assassination attempt on the president on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 Parade,” state news outlet RIA reported, adding Putin had not changed his schedule and was working as usual.
The president had not been in the Kremlin at the time and was working on Wednesday at his Novo Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, according to RIA.
Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the allegation.
The Kremlin did not present any evidence from the reported incident, and its statement included few details.
An unverified video circulating on Russian social media, including the channel of the military news outlet Zvezda, showed pale smoke rising behind the main Kremlin Palace in the walled citadel after the purported incident.
The video was posted in the early hours of Wednesday on a group for residents of a neighbourhood that faces the Kremlin across the Moskva River and picked up by Russian media, including the Telegram channel of the military news outlet Zvezda.
Separately, the Kremlin said the May 9 Victory Day parade would go ahead in Moscow despite the incident, the state-run TASS news agency reported.
The alleged incident comes as Ukrainian forces prepare for a counteroffensive they hope will liberate territory from Russian occupiers, more than a year after Putin ordered a full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is currently in Finland and plans to travel to Germany, as he lobbies for more military support from Kyiv’s Western allies.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
