US Denies Involvement in Alleged Drone Attack on Kremlin to Assassinate Putin

Ukraine accused Moscow of orchestrating the incident in order to escalate the war.

Although Russian attacks continue unabated, and 21 people were killed on Wednesday in the southern Kherson region of the country, there are no indications so far of an intensification of attacks from Moscow.

Despite this, on Sunday evening, a drone was shot down over the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, not far from the presidential office, and officials later admitted that it was a Ukrainian drone that “lost control” and was destroyed to avoid “undesirable consequences.”

According to President Putin’s spokesman, the attack on the Kremlin, a large government building complex in central Moscow, took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Footage posted on social media showed smoke billowing over the complex, and a second video showed a small explosion above the parliament building at the site, and two men appear to be climbing the dome.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the United States supported “without a doubt” the alleged attack, without providing evidence.

He added: “Decisions on such attacks are not taken in Kiev, but in Washington.”

In response, Kirby told US media: “Peskov is lying there, quietly and simply.”

“The United States had nothing to do with it. We don’t even know exactly what happened, but all I can assure you is that the United States had no role in it at all,” he said.

The US official said Washington did not encourage or enable Ukraine to launch strikes outside its borders, nor did it endorse attacks on leaders.

Ukraine said the alleged attack was a cover-up by Moscow.

Many say Russia would have little interest in launching an attack that would make the Kremlin look weak.

The Kremlin’s latest allegations came during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

In a speech, he called for the formation of a special tribunal to hold Russia accountable for “crimes of aggression” against Ukraine.

Zelensky said Putin “deserves to be judged in the capital of international law for criminal acts”.

The Ukrainian president spoke of alleged war crimes committed by Russia, including the “millions” of attacks on the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, and those killed during the occupation of Pocha, near the capital Kiev, at the start of Russia’s all-out invasion last year.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes in Ukraine and says he is responsible for war crimes, including the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. But it does not have a mandate for a new court to hold Russia accountable for its aggression in Ukraine.