Biden administration officials have denied any “advance knowledge” of the alleged drone strike on the Kremlin.
The Kremlin, a major government building and the official residence of the Russian President, was hit by two drones, according to the Russian government. In video footage, drones can be seen flying over a part of the building, when an explosion occurs above it. Smoke can be seen rising from the area in further footage.
In a statement, the Russian government claimed that Ukraine was behind the attack, declaring it to be a “planned terrorist act and an assassination attempt on the president.” The drones were eventually downed with no material damage to the building, or any injuries.
KREMLIN DRONE ATTACK
– Russia says two Ukrainian drones attacked Kremlin overnight
– Drones downed with no victims or material damage to the Kremlin
– Moscow says it was a terrorist attack and attempt on Putin's life
– Russia says it reserves right to respond when and how it… pic.twitter.com/loZA6c3Fvd
— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) May 3, 2023
Speaking to Politico, “senior” officials within the Biden administration said that if the strike was ordered by Ukraine, the US government had no “advance knowledge” about it. “We are looking into the report but aren’t able to confirm it or validate its authenticity,” one official said.
During a conversation with the Washington Post’s David Ignatius on Wednesday, Anthony Blinken said that he couldn’t “in any way validate” the claims put out by the Russian government about the alleged attack. “We simply don’t know. Second, I would take anything coming out of the Kremlin with a very large shaker of salt. So, let’s see. We’ll see what the facts are,” he added.
Despite the fact that the American administration is still apparently trying to work out whether the Kremlin drone strike was a Russian flag, done by independent pro-Ukraine groups, or the Ukrainian government themselves, the latter has publicly vehemently denied the accusations from Moscow.
“We don’t attack Putin or Moscow,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a visit to Finland, where he was during the Kremlin attack and will remain for an extended stay.
“We fight on our territory. We are defending our villages and cities. We don’t have, you know, enough weapons for this. That’s why we don’t use it anywhere. For us, that is the defict. We can’t spend it, and we didn’t attack Putin. We leave it to [a] tribunal.”
Mykhailo Polodyak, a senior Zelensky advisor, also denied the claims, given that such an attack would only give Russia a reason to further attack Ukraine. “Why would we need this? Where is the logic in that?” he said.
Zelensky in Finland denied that Ukraine had attacked the Kremlin: “We are not attacking Putin or Moscow. We are fighting on our own territory… We don’t have enough, you know, weapons for this.” pic.twitter.com/zjM704dKOo
— Spriter (@Spriter99880) May 3, 2023
