OUR Moscow accuses Ukrainians of an assassination attempt last night, just 24 hours before the anniversary of the Soviet “Victory Day” over Nazi Germany, which 9^V Maybeattack from drones against Kremlinattack to kill the president himself Putin.

A video released to the public shows a small “airplane” exploding a few meters from his construction site. Kremlin.

Drones against Russian targets

In recent months there have been attacks from drones by targets on the territory of Russia: on the occupied by Russia CrimeaV Belgorod, V ColumnV Bryansk, in regions Ryazan And Saratov.

So far, however, no drone attack has come this close to the Kremlin, the heart of Moscow.

According to Mark Galeotti, a professor at University College London (UCL) and author of many books on Russia, writing in his analysis for Spectator magazine, the drones had previously “exploded” at a distance of 30 kilometers and 100 kilometers from Moscow. , “one of the most armored cities in the world”.

However, the Russian side hastened today to talk about the “act of terrorism”, condemning the “assassination attempt” on Vladimir Putin and threatening Kyiv with retribution, which will be “justified.”

In retaliation for the “drone attack on the Kremlin”, former Russian Prime Minister and President Dmitry Medvedev proposed to kill the Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky and his “clique”, as he characteristically noted in his social media post.

Earlier today, MP from the occupied Crimea Mikhail Sheremet also demanded that rocket attack on the residence of the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky VKyivand Russian military bloggers have also called for a tough response to Ukraine, claiming that the last time someone tried to bomb Moscow was in the 1940s.

Kyiv denies

However, the Ukrainian leadership, for its part, denied Russia’s accusations.

“We did not attack Putin. We leave it for judgment. We fight on our own land. We protect our villages and cities… We do not attack Putin or Moscow. We don’t have enough weapons for that,” Ukrainian President Zelensky said, arguing that Putin needs to motivate Russian society as he has no other major military victories to showcase on the Ukrainian front.

“Ukraine is waging an exclusively defensive war and does not strike targets on the territory of the Russian Federation. For what reason; This will not solve any military problem. On the contrary, it would give the Russian Federation a reason to justify its attacks on (s.v.: Ukrainian) citizens” , – noted in his post on Twitter. Mikhail PodolyakChief Advisor to the President of Ukraine Zelensky.

Kyiv claims that Russia is preparing a provocation, which it will try to use as a pretext for launching new “large-scale terrorist attacks” against Ukraine. However, the fact is that even without such a pretext, the Russians have repeatedly carried out strikes against non-military targets in western Ukraine in recent months.

On the other hand, however, when Moscow talks about a “drone attack” on the Kremlin, it is like an admission that there were enemy drones that really managed to overcome the “fortress” (Kremlin) in the very center of one of the most well-armored cities in the world, in hundreds of kilometers from Ukraine.

If we assume that these are drones that started from Ukraine, then they freely passed over a significant part of the territory of Russia. If, on the other hand, we accept that these are drones that took off from Russian territory, then there are circles inside Russia that seek to harm the Russian leadership. Podolyak today did not fail to refer to the action of “Russian resistance fighters”, claiming that Putin and his “company” are “losing control” inside the Russian borders.

Parentheses also recall two other strikes that took place within Russian borders last year: against Daria Dugina in Moscow and against a military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in St. Petersburg.

Why now;

“The Kremlin deliberately decided to publicize the drone episode. The question is why,” Anton Troyanovsky of the New York Times noted in his analysis. Troyanovsky reports: “The Kremlin published on its website an unusual five-paragraph statement citing the Ukrainian government as the perpetrator (of the attack) and emphasizing its right to retaliate against Kyiv. But these messages from the Kremlin differed significantly from statements it made to the public after previous attacks in Russia or Russian-occupied territories. […] Now the question is whether Russia will use this incident to justify new and even deadlier strikes against Ukraine. […] The drone incident came at a particularly tense period in Russia’s 14-month war. Ukraine is preparing to launch a counteroffensive against Russian troops in the south and east of Ukraine. Putin, on the other hand, is gearing up for a big public appearance next Tuesday when Russia will celebrate the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.”

Flight 1987

Mark Galeotti recalls the case of a 19-year-old German pilot Matthias Rust Where 1987 he landed his small plane near the Kremlin in Moscow, exposing Soviet air defenses. Then, against the backdrop of the “invasion” of Matthias Rust, the heads of the Soviet armed forces and the Ministry of Defense “fell off”. Now, decades later, Galeotti is wondering if recent developments could lead to the possible resignation of Russia’s defense minister. Sergei Shoigu.

In any case, Ukraine seems to be on a trajectory of escalating tensions again: Kiev, on the one hand, announces that it is preparing a counterattack to recapture the territory, and Moscow, on the other, threatens to strike deep into Ukrainian territory.

Thousands dead

Western sources (White House National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby) claim that Russian troops have lost more than 20,000 soldiers on the Bahamut front alone in the east of Ukraine. If so, there are far more problems for Russia than the Kremlin would like to admit after 14 months of war.

“According to estimates published White House this week, showing just how bitter the fighting has become and hinting that the century could get even worse amid Kiev’s long-planned counteroffensive to retake the occupied territories,” Dan Lamotte and Isabelle Khurshudyan wrote in the Washington Post.