War: US Institute: “Drone Attacks” on Kremlin itself staged

War
US Institute: “Drone Attacks” on Kremlin itself staged

View of the dome of the Senate Palace in the Moscow Kremlin. photo

© Uncredited/AP/dpa

Two drones crash on the Kremlin. Russia blames Ukraine for this – and sees the US as the mastermind. However, experts at a US think tank estimate that this is very unlikely.

According to international military experts, Russia probably staged two alleged Ukrainian drone strikes on the Kremlin itself. This was intended to bring the Russian public closer to the war and create the conditions for broader social mobilization, the Washington-based Institute for War Studies (ISW) wrote in its report on Wednesday (local time). Several indications indicated that the attack was carried out from within and staged in a targeted manner.

Russia, in turn, accused the United States of being behind the alleged drone attack. “We know that the decision about such acts and acts of terrorism is not made in Kiev, but in Washington. And Kiev carries out what they are told,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Interfax news agency on Thursday, without presenting any evidence.

On Wednesday night, two drones that were flying towards the Kremlin compound crashed, the Russian Presidential Office said. Russia then accused Ukraine of an attempted attack on Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and threatened countermeasures. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the incident.

Above the heart of the Kremlin

According to the US think tank, Russian authorities have recently taken steps to bolster air defenses, including within Moscow itself to create air defense circles around the city. It is therefore extremely unlikely that two drones could have penetrated multiple air defense perimeters and been detonated or shot down directly over the heart of the Kremlin – in a way that could be easily captured on camera to provide spectacular images, according to the report .

According to the ISW, the immediate and coordinated Russian response to the incident suggests that the attack was prepared internally in such a way that its intended political impact overshadowed the embarrassment of hitting the Kremlin. With the action shortly before the “Day of Victory” on May 9, the war should be presented to the local audience as existential.

“Considered, Balanced Steps” announced

Putin, on the other hand, will most likely discuss the incident at a scheduled meeting of the National Security Council this Friday, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said. Regarding the retaliatory measures already announced by the Kremlin, he only said that these would be “well thought-out, balanced steps that correspond to the interests of our country”.

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has expressed concern. “What worries us is that this could be used as a justification for further attacks on Ukraine,” Borrell said Thursday on the sidelines of a meeting of EU development ministers in Brussels. “We call on Russia not to use this alleged attack as a pretext for a further escalation of the war.” Addressing the EU states, Borrell said the most important thing now is to continue to support Ukraine militarily, politically and economically.

dpa

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