The Russian government has claimed that Ukrainian drones attempted to strike Russian President Vladimir Putin's life in an attack early on Wednesday morning, May 03, 2023.
The incident could potentially mark a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine as Kyiv is expected to mobilise its forces for a planned spring offensive.
According to a statement from the Russian president's office, two Ukrainian drones were shot down by the Russian military's electronic air defence systems after crashing into the Kremlin. The Kremlin said that Putin was at his residence near Moscow at the time of the attack.
Ukraine responds to Russia's accusation
Ukraine denied any involvement in the drone strike. Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky, tweeted that Ukraine "wages an exclusively defensive war and does not attack targets on the territory of the Russian Federation."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that the Russian government will take "retaliatory measures whenever and wherever it sees fit."