Topline
The Kremlin was struck by Ukrainian drones early on Wednesday morning, officials in Moscow claimed, adding it was an attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s life, potentially marking a major escalation in the ongoing conflict between the two countries as Kyiv is expected to mobilize its forces for a planned spring offensive.
File Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin enters the hall to address Tokyo 2020 Paralympic … [+]
Key Facts
In a statement, the Russian President’s office claimed two Ukrainian drones crashed into the Kremlin after being shot down by the Russian military’s electronic air defense systems.
Ukraine denied involvement in the drone strike, and Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tweeted, “Ukraine wages an exclusively defensive war and does not attack targets on the territory of the Russian Federation … This does not solve any military issue.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was working at his residence near Moscow at the time of the attack.
The Kremlin said it will take “retaliatory measures whenever and wherever it sees fit.”
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has banned unauthorized drone flights in the city, saying the measure was taken because unmanned drones could obstruct their law enforcement’s efforts, according to a report from the New York Times.
Key Background
The private Russian mercenary force the Wagner Group said Kyiv’s expected attack has already begun as forces have seen “heightened activity along the frontline,” Al Jazeera reported. Earlier Wednesday, eight civilians were killed in a Russian attack on a grocery store in Kherson, which now has a curfew in place for Friday through Monday out of concern about more Russian attacks, Kyiv. Meanwhile, authorities in Russia have reported a number of drone strikes recently, including some near the Russia-Ukraine border, though Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for most of them, the New York Times reported, adding that if this drone attack is confirmed to be from Ukraine, it would be the “most audacious attempted strike on Russian soil” since Moscow began its invasion last year.
Tangent
The attack on the Kremlin occurred just days before the city’s Victory Day parade, celebrating Russia’s World War II victory, on Red Square. The Kremlin said the event will still take place as planned despite the attack.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/05/03/ukraine-denies-making-assassination-attempt-on-putin/