This is an update on current events between Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and the United States.
Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. On Thursday, May 4, 2023, Russia claimed the United States was involved in this attack on the Kremlin.
Moscow reported the attack happened on early Wednesday morning the 3rd of May 2023. They claim two “unmanned aerial vehicles” were intercepted and destroyed before they caused injury or damage.“Undoubtedly, such decisions, the definition of goals, the definition of means – all this is dictated to Kyiv from Washington,” according to Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson. As reported by Peskov, Putin, the Russian president was not in the building at the time.
To clarify, the Named “Kremlin” means "fortress inside a city". It has been used to refer to the Russian government. Initially, it referred to the government of the Soviet Union (1922–1991) and its leaders and has since taken its stronghold in reference to Russia.
Soon, after this drone attack, videos emerged on social media. A CNN military analyst supported Moscow’s claim that two drones were flown above the Kremlin.
The specific video shows what appears to be smoke rising from the Kremlin. The first reports of this alleged incident came from Russian state media TASS and RIA around 2:33 p.m. local time. This was about 12 hours after the attack.
Ukraine was immediately blamed for the attack. “We view these actions as a planned terrorist attack and an assassination attempt,” adding that “Russia reserves the right to take countermeasures wherever and whenever it deems appropriate.” said the Kremlin. They believe this was an attack on the Russian President’s life by Ukraine and that the United States was involved in this effort. All allegations are rebuked by Kyiv and Washington.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a news conference in Helsinki on May 4, 2023, “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow.” “We fight on our territory, we are defending our villages and cities. We don’t have enough weapon[s] for this. That’s why we don’t use it anywhere [else]”.“We didn’t attack Putin. We leave it to the tribunal”.
The United States National Security Council’s Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby called Russia’s allegation that the United States directed Ukraine to carry out such an attack “ridiculous.”
Interestingly enough on March 3, 2023, CNN reported that the United States and Ukraine warned that Russia planned so-called “false flag” attacks along Russia’s border with Ukraine as a pretext for military escalation. This clearly included Russian claims ahead of last year’s full-scale invasion that Ukraine was sending “saboteurs” over the Russian border. In recent months, Russia may have been considered weakened by the incidents of the sinking of the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet. In this regard, Dimitry Peskov reported that Moscow is following through with its planned Victory Day parade on May 9, 2023. Is Moscow looking to project strength at the current time?
As a side note- one reason Kyiv is so important to Russia - In the late 19th century, during the Russian industrial revolution, Kyiv was an imperative point in trade and transportation. It had been considered the center of the Russian Empire. Sugar and grain export by railroad was at the forefront both on land and on the Dnieper River.
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