By Oyintari Ben
Russia has charged Ukraine with attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin by employing drones to target his apartment in the Kremlin in the heart of Moscow.
Putin was not there at the time, according to his spokesperson.
A tiny explosion was followed by what seemed to be an item flying above the Kremlin in an unconfirmed video posted on social media.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, denied that his nation was responsible.
“We don’t attack Moscow or Putin. On our territory, we continue to fight. While visiting Finland, he remarked, “We are defending our villages and cities.
In the meantime, a Ukrainian presidential adviser told the BBC that the incident might have been a sign that Russia was planning a significant terrorist provocation in Ukraine.
Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the two nations frequently exchange accusations and denials.
Russia claimed that two drones that were aiming at the Kremlin, a significant government building in the heart of Moscow, were destroyed by electronic radar equipment.
The Russian presidency released a statement claiming that “last night, the Kyiv regime attempted to carry out a strike on the Kremlin residence of the President of the Russian Federation with unmanned aerial vehicles.”
According to the statement, Russia “reserves the right to take retaliatory measures wherever and whenever is deemed necessary” because it views this “as a planned terrorist act and an assassination attempt on the president.”
The Kremlin location was hit by drone fragments, but no one was harmed, and no structures were damaged, according to the Russian presidency.
Serhiy Nikiforov, the presidential spokesman for Ukraine, claimed that what transpired in Moscow was “clearly intended to escalate the situation before 9 May.”
While this was going on, Mikhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser for Ukraine, claimed that the incident might help Russia justify its attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine and might also point to “guerrilla activities of local resistance forces” within Russia.
Despite the absence of Ukrainian drones over the Kremlin, “something is happening in the RF [Russian Federation],” according to Mr Podolyak.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that while he was unable to corroborate Russia’s claim that Ukraine attempted to assassinate Mr Putin, he would treat any statements made by the Russian government with “a huge shaker of salt.”
