Russia accuses US of masterminding Kremlin drone attack
Published May 4, 2023 03:18 pm
MOSCOW, Russia - Moscow on Thursday accused the US of masterminding a drone attack on the Kremlin, a charge denied by Washington, and said Ukrainian sabotage on Russian territory had reached "unprecedented momentum".
Moscow said President Vladimir Putin was working from the Kremlin the day after the attack, which it said was a Ukrainian attempt to kill him.
"Decisions on such attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Kyiv only does what it is told to do... Washington should understand clearly that we know this," he said.
Ukraine has denied responsibility, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying "We do not attack Moscow or Putin."
A "No Drone Zone" sign sits just off the Kremlin in central Moscow as it prohibits unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) flying over the area, on May 3, 2023. Moscow's mayor on May 3, 2023 announced a ban on unauthorised drone flights over the Russian capital, just as the Kremlin said it had shot down two Ukrainian drones targeting President Vladimir Putin.
NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP
The US also denied any involvement.
"Peskov is just lying there, pure and simple," John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said on MSNBC.
Throughout its more than year-long offensive in Ukraine, Moscow has maintained that Kyiv is taking orders from the US -- accusing the West of leading a war against Russia by proxy.
\- 'Unprecedented' sabotage \-
The Kremlin attack came as Russia prepares to mark one of its main holidays of May 9 -- celebrating the Soviet victory over the Nazis -- with a traditional military parade on Red Square.
It came after five days of extraordinary apparent sabotage attacks, including trains derailed by explosions and massive fires in annexed Crimea.
On Thursday, Russia’s southern Krasnodar and Rostov regions, both near Ukraine, reported drone strikes that caused fires.
But the Kremlin insisted the May 9 parade will go ahead, despite the attacks in border regions and in the heart of Russian power, though under "strengthened" security.
Russian television on Thursday showed Putin in the Kremlin for the first time since the drone attack.
The Russian leader does not plan "any address on this topic", according to his spokesman.
Moscow did however acknowledge that the country was facing an "unprecedented" wave of sabotage.
Russia has opened a terrorism probe into the Moscow attack.
Russia has not released official images of the attack. Unverified social media images showed a drone hitting the Kremlin Senate building.
Peskov said "two copper sheets" on the dome of the 18th-century building had been damaged by fire.
"They have been or will be replaced, everything will be like new. There is no other damage."
\- 'Criminal actions' \- As Moscow accused the US of planning the Kremlin attack, Ukraine's Zelensky arrived on a surprise visit to The Hague. He visited the International Criminal Court, which in March issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the alleged illegal deportation of Ukranian children. "We all want to see a different Vladimir here," Zelensky said, referring to the Russian President, his namesake, who he believes "deserves to be sanctioned for his criminal actions here, in the capital of international law." Zelensky called for a special tribunal to be created to hold Russia to account for its "crime of aggression". "There should be responsibility for this crime. And this can only be enforced by the tribunal," he told diplomats and officials at the court. The Netherlands has pledged both financial and military support to Ukraine since Russia launched its offensive in February 2022. Zelensky also met Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and said that Ukraine was "realistic" that it would not be able to join NATO while still fighting Russia. "But we want a very clear message that we will be in NATO after the war," he said. Putin has used Ukraine's wish to join the alliance to justify launching his offensive. \- Intense strikes \- On the day of the alleged Kremlin attack, Ukraine said Russia shelled the southern Kherson region, including in a strike on a supermarket. At least 23 people died, and 46 were wounded in the strikes, officials said. After the Kremlin accused Kyiv of attempting to kill Putin, Ukrainian authorities said they faced a new series of strikes overnight. The Ukrainian air force said Thursday that Russia had fired 24 attack drones overnight, of which 18 were downed. Authorities said there were no casualties. Sergiy Popko, the head of the city of Kyiv's military administration, said that "all enemy missiles and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were destroyed over Kyiv by air defence forces.” Popko said it was the third day of attempted strikes on Kyiv in May. "Our city has not experienced such intensity of strikes since the beginning of this year," he said, adding that debris from the downed drones had fallen on various parts of the city.
A "No Drone Zone" sign sits just off the Kremlin in central Moscow as it prohibits unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) flying over the area, on May 3, 2023. Moscow's mayor on May 3, 2023 announced a ban on unauthorised drone flights over the Russian capital, just as the Kremlin said it had shot down two Ukrainian drones targeting President Vladimir Putin.
NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP
The US also denied any involvement.
"Peskov is just lying there, pure and simple," John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said on MSNBC.
Throughout its more than year-long offensive in Ukraine, Moscow has maintained that Kyiv is taking orders from the US -- accusing the West of leading a war against Russia by proxy.
\- 'Unprecedented' sabotage \-
The Kremlin attack came as Russia prepares to mark one of its main holidays of May 9 -- celebrating the Soviet victory over the Nazis -- with a traditional military parade on Red Square.
It came after five days of extraordinary apparent sabotage attacks, including trains derailed by explosions and massive fires in annexed Crimea.
On Thursday, Russia’s southern Krasnodar and Rostov regions, both near Ukraine, reported drone strikes that caused fires.
But the Kremlin insisted the May 9 parade will go ahead, despite the attacks in border regions and in the heart of Russian power, though under "strengthened" security.
Russian television on Thursday showed Putin in the Kremlin for the first time since the drone attack.
The Russian leader does not plan "any address on this topic", according to his spokesman.
Moscow did however acknowledge that the country was facing an "unprecedented" wave of sabotage.
Russia has opened a terrorism probe into the Moscow attack.
Russia has not released official images of the attack. Unverified social media images showed a drone hitting the Kremlin Senate building.
Peskov said "two copper sheets" on the dome of the 18th-century building had been damaged by fire.
"They have been or will be replaced, everything will be like new. There is no other damage."
\- 'Criminal actions' \- As Moscow accused the US of planning the Kremlin attack, Ukraine's Zelensky arrived on a surprise visit to The Hague. He visited the International Criminal Court, which in March issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the alleged illegal deportation of Ukranian children. "We all want to see a different Vladimir here," Zelensky said, referring to the Russian President, his namesake, who he believes "deserves to be sanctioned for his criminal actions here, in the capital of international law." Zelensky called for a special tribunal to be created to hold Russia to account for its "crime of aggression". "There should be responsibility for this crime. And this can only be enforced by the tribunal," he told diplomats and officials at the court. The Netherlands has pledged both financial and military support to Ukraine since Russia launched its offensive in February 2022. Zelensky also met Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and said that Ukraine was "realistic" that it would not be able to join NATO while still fighting Russia. "But we want a very clear message that we will be in NATO after the war," he said. Putin has used Ukraine's wish to join the alliance to justify launching his offensive. \- Intense strikes \- On the day of the alleged Kremlin attack, Ukraine said Russia shelled the southern Kherson region, including in a strike on a supermarket. At least 23 people died, and 46 were wounded in the strikes, officials said. After the Kremlin accused Kyiv of attempting to kill Putin, Ukrainian authorities said they faced a new series of strikes overnight. The Ukrainian air force said Thursday that Russia had fired 24 attack drones overnight, of which 18 were downed. Authorities said there were no casualties. Sergiy Popko, the head of the city of Kyiv's military administration, said that "all enemy missiles and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were destroyed over Kyiv by air defence forces.” Popko said it was the third day of attempted strikes on Kyiv in May. "Our city has not experienced such intensity of strikes since the beginning of this year," he said, adding that debris from the downed drones had fallen on various parts of the city.