The United States accused Russia of “lying” after it claimed Washington was behind a drone attack on the Kremlin this week, raising tensions ahead of an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian forces.
Russia has also launched its drones into Ukrainian cities overnight following the Moscow incident in the early hours of Wednesday, which the Kremlin called a Ukrainian attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin.
Several explosions rocked Kiev later Thursday, with machine-gun fire indicating that Ukrainian forces were firing skyward to intercept incoming drones. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said, “There has been no U.S. involvement [the Kremlin incident]. Whatever it was, it didn’t concern us. . . We had nothing to do with it.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also strongly rejected any suggestions of involvement in the attack, in which Russia said it shot down two drones on a Kremlin building in the early hours of Wednesday morning, briefly setting some rooftops on fire.
Military analysts in Moscow have also suggested that a non-state group, using commercially available drones, may be behind the attempt.
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia saw the assault as a Ukrainian attack “dictated from across the ocean”.
“These decisions, the determination of goals, the determination of means, all this is dictated in Kyiv by Washington. We are well aware of this,” Peskov told reporters.
“It’s important that Washington clearly understands that we know,” he added, “and that it understands how dangerous such direct involvement in the conflict is.”
Kirby said the statements were “false” and Peskov was “just lying.”
Along with the Ukrainian president, a number of top officials also denied that Ukraine was behind the alleged attack on Moscow’s symbolic seat of power.
The Kremlin said Putin was not in the building at the time. When asked about his reaction, Peskov presented the Russian leader as unflappable and said that the damage to the building was minor. “There are two burnt copper plates covering the dome, they will be replaced, if they haven’t already been replaced. . . There is no other damage.”
Videos of the attack shared online show a drone exploding into a fireball as it crashes into the Kremlin’s dome and another exploding as it strikes a flagpole flying the Russian tricolor.
Western governments have refused to attribute responsibility for the crash. A White House spokesman said on Wednesday that Russia has a history of “false flag” operations designed to discredit the enemy. He said the United States has not encouraged or helped Ukraine to strike outside its borders.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a news conference in Helsinki, Finland Wednesday © Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix/AP
The apparent attack precedes a potentially pivotal moment in Russia by more than 14 months war against Ukraineas Kiev prepares to launch a counteroffensive aimed at the liberation of the territory in the southeast.
In the early hours of Thursday, Russia launched drone attacks on Ukraine, targeting major cities. The sirens of the air raids, then the explosions broke the silence during the night in the center of Kiev. Wreckage featured the phrases “For Moscow” and “For the Kremlin” scrawled across the drones.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it destroyed 18 of 24 Russian drones overnight, including all those targeting Kiev. There was no serious damage or injuries, authorities said.
Of the 24 attack drones, 15 Shahed targeted the Black Sea port of Odessa.
At the same time, several drones struck or attempted to strike targets overnight in several Russian regions and cities near the border with Ukraine, according to local Russian officials.
In the Rostov region, a drone crashed on the territory of the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery causing minor damage, the governor said. A fire was reported on Thursday at the Ilsky oil refinery in the southern Krasnodar region, state news agency Tass reported, after an attack by four drones.
The governor of the Voronezh region said on Thursday that the air defenses had shot down a drone. Another was shot in Belgorod, according to Mash, a media outlet with ties to the Russian police. He shared a photo of the downed drone, which appeared to be a reconnaissance drone made to look like a toy shark.
Several Russian regions announced restrictions on the use of drones on Thursday, while some banned drones during military parades to be held in Russian cities on May 9 to commemorate the end of World War II.
But Kremlin spokesman Peskov said the drone strike would not affect plans for the May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow, including Putin’s participation.
Zelenskyy visited the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Thursday and called for a special tribunal to bring Russia to justice for its war in Ukraine. The court has issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russia’s children’s commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for transferring children from Ukraine to Russia.
Zelenskyy also held talks with Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands, who said there were “no taboos” when it comes to military support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy was expected to push his host for more support, including Western fighters.
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington
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