Former Russian deputy Ilya Ponomaryov, suspected of ties to rebel groups in Russia, claims that the drone attack on the Kremlin was the work of Russian partisans, not the Ukrainian army, reports CNN.

In an interview with CNN, Ponomaryov said that responsibility for the attack lies with “one of the Russian partisan groups.”

“I can’t say more because they haven’t publicly accepted responsibility yet,” he said.

According to Ponomaryov, the participants of the partisan unit in Russia are, as a rule, “youth, students, residents of big cities. I know of partisan activity in about 40 cities in Russia,” he told CNN.

How Russian guerrillas work to destroy the sense of security that Putin is trying to convey to the population

“All partisan groups have their own goal, their own specialization, their own knowledge. Some of them are focused on railroad sabotage, others are engaged in setting fire to military recruitment points. Some attack pro-war activists, others engage in hacking,” he said.

According to Ponomaryov, drone strikes inside Russia are a “new line of activity” for groups that he says pose a “real threat.”

“What Putin is selling to the nation, and especially to the elites, is a sense of invulnerability and security. And the partisans are destroying both. They actually say that there is a war here, and you personally are not safe,” said Ponomarev.

Ponomaryov, who now lives in exile in Ukraine and Poland, was the only Russian lawmaker to vote against Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and has since been listed as a terrorist suspect, according to Russian authorities.

By the way, Ponomaryov talked about the Russian partisans and when there was a bombing, during which Oleksandr Dugin’s daughter Daria Dugin was killed.

On Wednesday, the Kremlin accused Ukraine of being responsible for the drone attacks on the Kremlin.

“We regard these actions as a planned terrorist attack and assassination attempt,” the Kremlin said, adding that “Russia reserves the right to take countermeasures where and when it deems necessary.”

Kyiv has denied its involvement in any drone attack on the Kremlin and stressed that such actions would do nothing for Ukraine on the front line, and would only provoke Russia to take more radical measures.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi denied the involvement of his country. “We are fighting on our territory, we are not attacking Moscow or Putin… We did not attack Putin, we leave this issue for consideration by the court,” Zelenskyy said.

For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says he cannot confirm Russia’s accusation that Ukraine tried to kill President Vladimir Putin with a drone, and considers any claims from the Kremlin “dubious”.

Who is Ilya Ponomarev?

The Russian insurgent movement was officially born on August 31, 2022, when the “Irpin Declaration” was signed, which united the “Freedom of Russia” Legion, a volunteer unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the “National Republican Army” (NRA), a network of guerrillas operating underground in of Russia, Le Monde reports, citing Rador.

Two armed groups accepted Ilya Ponomarev to become their political coordinator. A third group, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), also linked to the Ukrainian armed forces, emerged that day but ultimately preferred to maintain its autonomy.

Ilya Ponomaryov was a member of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, from 2007 to 2016, where he was the only deputy to vote against the 2014 annexation of Crimea. After leaving for the United States due to persecution, he was subjected in Moscow, he finally settled in Ukraine.

After the invasion on February 24, 2022, he spoke on behalf of the mysterious “National Republican Army”, making statements – often with unverified information – on behalf of Russian rebels, claiming attacks on recruitment centers or railways, and the murders of Daria Dugin, a far-right activist, daughter ultra-nationalist and ideologue of imperialism Oleksandr Dugin.

Read also:

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• Armand Goshu: “There are signs that the victim of the attack should have been Daria Dugina, not her father” / Who is really behind this scenario

• “UFOs, strange things happen”: the reaction of the Ukrainian Air Force after the explosion over the Kremlin
• Kyiv’s first reaction to Moscow’s accusation of an attempt on Putin: “This is clearly preparation for May 9”
• Russian high-ranking official after the attack on the Kremlin: “We will demand the use of weapons capable of destroying the regime in Kyiv”
• What does the USA say about Russia’s accusation that Ukraine tried to kill Putin
• Zelensky denies that Ukraine carried out any attack on the territory of Russia: we did not attack Putin, we leave it to the court
• Medvedev calls for the “liquidation” of Zekensky after the explosion over the Kremlin
• Drone attack on the Kremlin: three important questions