A day after the Kremlin accused Ukraine of using two drones to assassinate President Vladimir V. Putin, deep questions remained over an episode that heightened tensions in anticipation of an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky vehemently denied any involvement in an attack on the Kremlin, which would be a daring attack on the fortress-like complex in the heart of the Russian capital. He accused Moscow of orchestrating the explosions to garner public support ahead of “a large-scale terrorist provocation”.
Here’s what we know so far about the episode and its aftermath.
What happened?
Videos verified by DailyExpertNews showed two explosions 15 minutes apart over the Kremlin shortly before 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The explosions appeared to have been caused by drones.
One explosion caused a brief fire, though it was unclear whether the drones exploded as planned or were shot down. It was not possible to determine from where they would have been launched.
About 12 hours after the explosions, the Kremlin issued a rare statement saying it had foiled an “attempt on the president’s life”, who was not in the Kremlin at the time. The Kremlin houses, among other things, the Russian Senate and an apartment where Mr. Putin occasionally stays.
There were no casualties or serious damage, the Kremlin said.
What do Russia and Ukraine say?
Both sides blame each other for the explosions.
In its unusually lengthy statement, Russia’s defense ministry said on Wednesday it reserves the right to “take retaliatory action as and when it sees fit”. The statement contained no evidence of Ukrainian involvement.
Officials in the Ukrainian government and military intelligence, which typically maintain a policy of deliberate ambiguity about attacks on Russian territory, have said directly that they played no role in an attack on the Kremlin. They have accused Russia of masterminding the incident to justify more attacks on Ukraine or to generate public support for its war.
Dmitri S. Peskov, Mr Putin’s spokesman, claimed on Thursday without evidence that the United States bore responsibility because it “dictated” Ukrainian attacks in Russia. John F. Kirby, a White House spokesman, immediately dismissed the allegation, saying of the incident, “Whatever it was, we weren’t involved.”
Russia’s claims have led US intelligence officials to circle around the little facts to determine what happened and why Moscow risks embarrassment by paying so much attention to what amounts to another security flaw amid its much-publicized military battle in Ukraine.
“We just don’t know,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Wednesday, adding, “I would take anything that comes out of the Kremlin with a very large salt shaker.”
What could happen next?
The incident could provide a pretext for Putin to somehow escalate the war, possibly by attacking government buildings in Kiev or trying again to behead the Ukrainian government.
Kremlin officials have repeatedly hinted at the possibility of using nuclear weapons, and war hawks have pushed for a new conscription to increase troop numbers.
On Thursday, Ukrainian air defenses shot down a volley of Russian drones and missiles launched at Kiev and Odessa, in the latest of a string of attacks on cities and towns in recent days. In Odessa, the Ukrainian military released footage suggesting some drones had handwritten messages reading “For Moscow” and “For the Kremlin”.
Tensions are running particularly high as Kiev prepares a counter-offensive to recapture territory in eastern and southern Ukraine seized by Russia. Ukrainian troops are preparing tens of thousands of soldiers and escalating attacks on Russian targets, including in occupied Crimea. And on Tuesday, Russia commemorates Victory Day, a major holiday that marks the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II.
Despite the brutality of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has stepped up violence in response to major attacks on Russian-controlled territory. Last fall, after an explosion damaged a key bridge between Russia and Crimea, Moscow launched a campaign of airstrikes against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure that cut off heat and electricity for millions of Ukrainians as temperatures plummeted.
