Russia has launched new accusations against the United States, claiming it orchestrated a “terrorist attack” using drones on the Kremlin.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russia claimed that the US was the mastermind behind the attack, while Ukraine was merely executing Washington’s plans.
“The attempts to deny this, both in Kiev and in Washington, are, of course, absolutely ridiculous,” he said.
“We know very well that decisions about these actions, about these terrorist attacks, are not made in Kiev but in Washington.”
Despite the alleged attack, Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was carrying out his duties in his office as usual on Thursday. However, he also mentioned that security measures in Moscow would be stepped up after the incident.
A key Putin ally suggested on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should be killed after the alleged attack. Russian officials are labeling Zelensky and Ukraine a “terrorist regime in Kiev” and are said to be ready to attack Zelensky’s home after reports that Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin.
“After today’s terrorist attack, there are no options left but the physical elimination of Zelensky and his clique,” Kremlin Security Council Vice Chairman Dmitri Medvedev, a former Russian president, wrote on social media under Putin
The incident involved “two unmanned aerial vehicles” that were shot down “without causing any casualties or damage” to the Kremlin, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s office. Putin was not in the Kremlin at the time, Peskov told state media.
JUST IN – Russia says Ukraine tried to hit Kremlin with drones overnight in an assassination attempt on Putin.pic.twitter.com/xAS0BtTDzs
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) May 3, 2023
“We see these actions as a planned terrorist attack and assassination attempt against the president,” Peskov’s office said. “Russia reserves the right to take countermeasures wherever and whenever it sees fit.”
In recent weeks, Russia has also reported a series of drone attacks on oil facilities and train derailments, blaming Ukraine.
“The terrorist and sabotage activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are gaining unprecedented momentum,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
He added that Russia “reserves the right to take retaliatory measures.”
Ukrainian officials denied carrying out the drone operation and suggested the incident could have been carried out by Russian dissidents, if not by the government.
Zelensky told reporters while traveling in Finland: “We are not attacking Putin or Moscow. We are fighting on our territory. We are defending our towns and cities. We don’t have enough weapons for that. That’s why we don’t use it anywhere [else]. For us, this is a deficit. We can’t spend it. And we didn’t attack Putin. we leave it [a] court”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed skepticism about the Russian accusations, but maintained that they do not know what really happened. “I cannot validate them in any way; we just don’t know,” Blinken said during a Washington Post live event. “And it’s very difficult to comment or speculate on that without really knowing what the facts are.”
Zelensky’s team suggested that Putin would use the incident to justify a retaliatory operation. “Russia is clearly preparing a large-scale terrorist attack,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak tweeted. “Ukraine is waging an exclusively defensive war and does not attack targets on the territory of the Russian Federation. For what? This does not solve any military problem.”
Whether or not the drone strike “solves any military problem,” Russia is determined to use it as an excuse to ramp up belligerent rhetoric against Ukraine and its proxy war backer, the U.S. united
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