KYIV: Russia claimed it foiled an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Kremlin early Wednesday, calling it an unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin and promising retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act. The Ukrainian president denied it, saying: “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow.” Putin wasn’t in the Kremlin at the time and was at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.
There was no independent verification of the reported attack, which Russia authorities said occurred overnight but presented no evidence to support it. Questions also arose as to why it took the Kremlin hours to report the incident and why videos of it also surfaced that late in the day. A video posted on a local Moscow news Telegram channel, shot from across the river from the Kremlin, appeared to show smoke rising over the buildings.
There was no independent verification of the reported attack, which Russia authorities said occurred overnight but presented no evidence to support it. Questions also arose as to why it took the Kremlin hours to report the incident and why videos of it also surfaced that late in the day. A video posted on a local Moscow news Telegram channel, shot from across the river from the Kremlin, appeared to show smoke rising over the buildings.