Russian leaders are speculating that the United States is behind the alleged attack on President Vladimir Putin’s life.
The Kremlin claims that a drone attempted to assassinate Putin on Thursday, initially speculating that it was an attack by Ukrainian forces.
“We know that it is often not Kiev that determines the goals, but Washington,” Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the president of the Russian Federation, said at a briefing, according to the Moscow Times.
RUSSIA CLAIMS THEY CAN TACKLE THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION BY DRONES
He continued: “It is very important that Washington understands that we know this and understands how dangerous this direct involvement in the conflict is.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN on Thursday that Peskov is “lying.”
“There’s one word that comes to mind that I’m obviously not fit to use on national television,” Kirby said when asked for his reaction.
“Obviously, that’s a ridiculous claim,” Kirby continued. “The United States had nothing to do with this. We don’t even know exactly what happened here … but I can assure you that the United States had no role in it … We neither encourage nor allow Ukraine to attack outside from the borders of Ukraine”.
Unconfirmed videos have begun circulating online that appear to show a drone shot down over the Kremlin and smoke rising over Moscow.
No injuries or damage were reported at Putin’s residence. The Russian leader was seen in video and photos released Wednesday meeting with a regional governor outside Moscow.
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The Kremlin previously called the incident a “terrorist action” and threatened retaliation against Ukraine in reports by state media RIA.
The United States has not responded to the Russian government’s accusations, but leaders have previously said they are not familiar with the drone incident and cannot confirm the reports.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that he could not “validate” the reports and that “we just don’t know”.
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Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, earlier dismissed the drone incident as a false flag meant to justify retaliation.
“Russia is clearly preparing a large-scale terrorist attack. That’s why it first arrests a large allegedly subversive group in Crimea. And then demonstrates ‘drones over the Kremlin,'” Podolyak wrote on social media.
Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nykyforov also denied Ukraine’s involvement in the alleged drone strike.
“It is too early to say who is behind the alleged drone attack and whether the attempted attack actually happened. If Ukraine did it, Russia would consider it a massive escalation, allowing Putin to wipe out Kiev, including the residence of Zelenskyy,” former Defense Intelligence Agency official Rebekah Koffler told Fox News Digital.
He continued: “The way the article is written has signs of Russian disinformation. Versions of this article are all over the Russian media, which tells me that the Kremlin has approved its publication. If is a Russian ‘active measure’, the aim would be provocation, provoke, lay the groundwork and pretext for a ‘retaliation’, which the article specifically mentioned”.
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