Moscow accuses Kyiv of trying to assassinate Putin

President Vladimir Putin's office reported that Ukraine carried out two drone attacks overnight with the intention of hitting the Russian President's Kremlin residence. However, the statement also mentioned that the two drones were shot down using radar systems and caused no casualties or damage.

Moscow officials have described the event as a "planned terrorist act" and said that they reserve the right to retaliate. Although the Kremlin described the attack as an assassination attempt, Putin was not in the building at the time and was reportedly unharmed.

Footage of drone attack on Kremlin which Russia is saying was an assassination attempt on President Putin.

This war ain’t ending. Escalation time

pic.twitter.com/jLYuS9FS96

— Monica Verma (@TrulyMonica) May 3, 2023

The Moscow city government has announced a ban on drone flights, and the Russian side has reserved the right to take retaliatory measures.

Ukrainian presidential official Sergei Nikiforov denied Kyiv's involvement and said that an attack on the Kremlin would not change anything on the battlefield but would likely provoke Russia into more aggressive actions.

While details of the alleged drone attack remain scarce, military analyst Sean Bell points out that there is an information war going on, and Ukraine has never attempted anything as risky and difficult as this.

The correspondent of the Wall Street Journal, Yaroslav Trofimov, highlights that such drones could only have been raised from Moscow or the surrounding area and not from Ukraine.

This kind of quadrocopters could only have been launched from within Moscow or its vicinity. Not the kind of drone that can fly all the way from Ukraine. https://t.co/1u7zsLCOma

— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) May 3, 2023

Source: Reuters, Sky News