RUSSIAN authorities have accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin in an alleged drone attack.
A statement on the Kremlin’s website said debris from the unmanned aerial vehicles fell on the grounds of the seat of Russia’s government, but did not cause any damage.
The statement added that no casualties were reported.
A video published overnight on a local Moscow news Telegram channel, which appeared to have been shot across the river from the Kremlin, showed what looked like smoke rising over the Kremlin.
According to the text accompanying the video, residents of a nearby apartment building reported hearing bangs and seeing smoke at around 2.30am local time (12.30am BST). It was not possible to independently verify the posted footage.
There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities. The Kremlin did not present any evidence to back up its account, including the allegation of an assassination attempt as Russia prepares to observe its annual Victory Day on Tuesday May 9.
“We consider these actions as a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the life of the president of Russia, carried out on the eve of the Victory Day, the parade on May 9, where foreign dignitaries are expected,” the Kremlin’s statement read.
Russia retains the right to respond “when and where it sees fit”, the statement said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti that Putin was not in the Kremlin at the time and was working from the Novo-Ogaryovo residence.
The Kremlin added that Putin was safe and his schedule was unchanged. Peskov said at the parade would take place as scheduled on May 9.
Shortly before the news about the alleged attack broke, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin issued a ban on using drones in the Russian capital, with an exception for drones launched by authorities.
Sobyanin did not cite a reason for the ban, saying only that it would prevent “illegal use of drones that can hinder the work of law enforcement”.
A legislator who represents Crimea in Moscow, Mikhail Sheremet, told Russian state media that the Kremlin should order a missile strike on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s residence in Kyiv in retaliation for Wednesday’s alleged incident.
