It is the most spectacular attack attributed to kyiv by Russia on its own soil since the beginning of the conflict. This Wednesday, May 3, Moscow claimed to have shot down two Ukrainian drones which targeted the Kremlin, denouncing an assassination attempt on Vladimir Putin a few days before major military celebrations.
In a video broadcast by some Russian media on social networks, a small drone is seen approaching the roofs of the Kremlin before exploding. Another shows a plume of smoke rising above this location overnight. It was not immediately possible to verify these independent source images.
What the Kremlin says
“Last night, the Kiev regime tried to strike the Kremlin” – one of the most secure places in the world – said the Russian presidency in a press release. According to her, two machines that were trying to reach the Russian seat of power were “disabled” by electronic warfare systems. Vladimir Putin was not injured and no casualties or damage were to be deplored.
“We consider these actions as an attempted terrorist act and an attempt on the life of the president”, denounced the Kremlin. “Russia reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it deems appropriate,” he added.
Shortly after the announcement of this alleged attack, the speaker of the Lower House of the Russian Parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, called for “destroying” the Ukrainian government. “After today’s terrorist attack, there is no alternative but the physical elimination of Zelensky and his clique,” ex-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram. , current number two of the Russian Security Council and accustomed to vitriolic statements.
What Ukraine responds
“We did not attack Putin,” replied Volodymyr Zelensky. “We are not attacking Putin or Moscow. We don’t have enough weapons for that,” he added during a press conference in Helsinki with leaders of northern European countries. “Ukraine has nothing to do with the drone attacks on the Kremlin,” said Mykhaïlo Podoliak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president. Ukrainian authorities traditionally deny the attacks attributed to them by Moscow.
“Such remarks staged by Russia should only be considered as an attempt” to find a pretext for “a large-scale terrorist attack in Ukraine”, said Mykhaïlo Podoliak. For him, such an attack, if carried out by kyiv, “would not solve any military problem”, when Moscow still controls nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory.
These Russian accusations come against the backdrop of an increase in drone attacks and sabotage in recent days on Russian territory, as Kiev says it is completing its preparations for a major spring offensive.
What Washington says
For its part, Washington says it is taking “very cautiously” information from the Kremlin on an attack by Ukrainian drones. “I saw the information. I can’t validate it, we don’t know,” reacted the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken.
What we know about security around Putin
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that Vladimir Putin was not there at the time of the attack. According to him, the Russian president is working this Wednesday in his official and ultra-secure residence in Novo-Ogariovo, 25 kilometers west of Moscow. The evening before, he was officially on the move to Saint Petersburg where he met the director of the Mariinsky theatre, still according to the Russian presidency.
Vladimir Putin’s security is closely watched in Russia. In January, mobile short-range air defense installations were seen on the roofs of many buildings in Moscow, reports International mailreporting that anti-aircraft missile systems had also been seen near two residences of the Russian president in Novo Ogarevo and Valdai, near Moscow.
Vladimir Putin is “pathologically terrified at the idea of an attempt on his life”, according to the confidences of a former officer of the Federal Protection Service (FGS) to a Russian investigative media based in London . According to his comments, published in early April, the Russian president is paranoid, constantly on his guard, to the point that he only travels by train and that a special service of the FGS is responsible for testing his food.