Moscow: A video went viral on Russian social media on Wednesday showing plumes of smoke billowing over the Kremlin, as Moscow said it had foiled a Ukrainian drone strike aimed at President Vladimir Putin, whose residence is in the walled compound. The video was posted in the early hours of Wednesday on a group for residents of a neighborhood that faces the Kremlin across the Moscow River and was picked up by Russian media, including the Telegram channel of military news outlet Zvezda.
Watch the video of the Kremlin drone attack here:
According to Russian media, two unidentified drones were targeted in the Kremlin last night.
“As a result of their fall and the scattering of fragments, there were no victims and material damage. The President of Russia was not injured as a result of the Ukrainian attack” – Putin’s office … pic.twitter.com/w7Bv1jQzYk
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) May 3, 2023
Putin’s assassination attempt by Ukraine: Moscow
Russian officials on Wednesday accused Ukraine of attempting to attack the Kremlin with two drones overnight in an attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin condemned the alleged attack attempt as a “terrorist act” and said the Russian military and security forces intercepted the drone before it could strike.
A statement carried by Russian state-run news agencies said there were no casualties. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti that Putin was not in the Kremlin at the time and was operating from the Novo-Ogaryovo residence.
The Kremlin said Putin was safe and there was no change in his schedule. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials. The Kremlin presented no evidence from the alleged incident, and its statement contained few details.
Tass quoted the statement as saying the Kremlin regarded the development as a deliberate attempt on Putin’s life ahead of Victory Day which Russia celebrates on May 9.
Separately, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said the May 9 Victory Day parade would go ahead in Moscow despite the incident, the state-run TASS news agency reported. The Tass report quoted the statement as saying that Russia reserves the right to respond ‘when and where it sees fit’.