Russia claims it foiled Putin assassination attempt by Ukrainian drone: report

Russia accused Ukraine Wednesday of attempting a drone attack on the Kremlin aimed at assassinating the country’s strongman leader Vladimir Putin.

Video of the alleged incident shows a bright explosion over the massive complex — which houses Putin’s residence — but Russian embassy officials said no one was killed or injured.

“The President has not suffered in this terrorist attack,” the embassy said on Telegram. “His working schedule remains unchanged and follows its ordinary course.”

Russia said its military and state security services used “radar systems” to “disable” two drones on the Kremlin grounds “without causing any casualties or damage.”

In fact, the radar may have only detected the drones, with the explosion resulting from a Russian self-defense missile knocking one of the crafts out of the air, defense analysts have told The Post.

Another video, which appeared to have been taken from a neighborhood that faces the Kremlin from across the Moskva River, showed what looked like smoke rising over the Kremlin. Text that accompanied the video, which was shared on Telegram, said that residents of a nearby apartment building reported hearing bangs and seeing smoke at about 2:30 a.m.

The Kremlin in a statement said it reserved the right to retaliate for the strike, which it considers “a planned terrorist attack and an attempt on the president.” However, Putin was not there at the time of the early morning attack.

Russia’s claim has not been verified, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had nothing to do with the incident and would not spend critical weaponry on attacking Moscow.

“We fight on our territory; we’re defending our buildings and cities. We don’t have enough weapons for this,” Zelenskyy said. “For us, that is a deficit – we can’t spend it. We didn’t attack Putin. We leave it to [the United Nations] tribunal.”

Instead, the strike may have been a false-flag operation by Moscow to garner support for a coming offensive, Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in a statement.

“It’s all predictable. Russia is clearly preparing a large-scale terrorist attack, that’s why it … demonstrates “drones over the Kremlin,” he said. “Ukraine wages an exclusively defensive war and does not attack targets on the territory of the Russian Federation. What for? This does not solve any military issue. But it gives RF grounds to justify its attacks on civilians.”

If the attack was not self-inflicted by the Russian government, it may have come from Russian people in protest of the ongoing war on Ukraine and Putin’s leadership, Podolyak said.

“The emergence of unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles at energy facilities or on Kremlin’s territory can only indicate the guerilla activities of local resistance forces,” he said. “As you know, drones can be bought at any military store. The loss of power control over the country by Putin’s clan is obvious. But on the other hand, Russia has repeatedly talked about its total control over the air.”

“In a word, something is happening in RF, but definitely without Ukraine’s drones over the Kremlin,” he added.

The alleged attack comes days before the Victory Day parade on Red Square, an annual demonstration of military power in Russia marking the Soviet Union’s victory of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Shortly before news of the alleged attack broke, Moscow Mayer Sergei Sobyanin issued a ban on drones in the Russian capital, with the exception of drones used by authorities.

Sobyanin did not provide a reason for the ban but said it would prevent “illegal use of drones that can hinder the work of law enforcement.”

If the Kremlin’s claims are confirmed to be true, it would be the most aggressive retaliatory strike on Russia since the country launched its invasion of Ukraine in February of last year.

Russia has accused Ukraine of several drone strikes across the border since the start of the war, though Ukraine typically does not claim responsibility for most of the incidents.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had seen reports of the alleged drone attack but couldn’t validate them.

“We simply don’t know,” Blinken said during a Washington Post Live event Wednesday.

“I would take anything coming out of the Kremlin with a very large shaker of salt. We’ll see what the facts are,” Blinken said.

Russia’s claim comes as Ukraine prepares a highly-anticipated counteroffensive aimed at reclaiming territory seized by Russian forces.

The White House announced Wednesday it would send an additional $300 million in additional weaponry from US stocks ahead of the coming Ukrainian push.

The package will include additional ammunition for HIMARS rockets systems, 155mm howitzers and accompanying artillery, mortar rounds, anti-armor weapon systems and trucks and trailers “to support heavy equipment,” according to the Pentagon.

The latest package brings the total amount sent to Ukraine in security assistance to $36.4 billion since President Biden took office – $35.7 billion of which was sent after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2021.