Moscow has accused the US of masterminding an alleged assassination attempt against President Putin by ordering Wednesday’s drone strike on the Kremlin.
"Decisions on such attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference on Thursday. Kyiv only does what it is told to do. Washington should understand clearly that we know this,” he added.
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The White House on Wednesday denied any involvement in the attack. "We had nothing to do with this," said John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, on MSNBC.
"Peskov is just lying there, pure and simple," he added.
Ukraine has also denied playing any role in the attack on the Kremlin and has suggested it was a ‘false flag’ operation, staged as a pretext for launching more attacks on Ukraine.
President Zelensky said on Wednesday evening: "We fight on our territory; we are defending our villages and cities."
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said the attack was "likely staged" by Russia in an attempt to "bring the war home to a Russian domestic audience and set conditions for a wider societal mobilization."
It added: "The Kremlin’s immediate, coherent, and coordinated response to the incident suggests that the attack was internally prepared in such a way that its intended political effects outweigh its embarrassment."
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Peskov said Putin was working in his office in the Kremlin as normal on Thursday, but added that security measures in Moscow would be beefed up following the attack, which the Kremlin said occurred on the night of May 2/3.
"Of course, everything will be strengthened. Everything has already been strengthened in preparation for the Victory Day parade" on May 9, he said.
Russia also reported a series of drone attacks on oil facilities and train derailments, for which it blamed Ukraine. "The terrorist and sabotage activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are gaining unprecedented momentum," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
It added that Russia "reserves the right to take retaliatory measures."
Russia launched a “comprehensive air attack” against Kyiv overnight on May 3/4, the third such strike against Ukraine’s capital in four days. Air raid sirens sounded at around 2:20 a.m. followed shortly afterwards by a huge explosion as air defenses intercepted a kamikaze drone.
The blast was large enough to set off car alarms in the city center, Kyiv Post correspondents report. The all clear was not given until 6 a.m. No casualties have been reported at this time.
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