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| Photo: Ostorozhno Novosti via Reuters |
Moscow says nobody injured; Ukraine says it wasn’t involved
Two drones crashed into the Kremlin early Wednesday, according to the Russian government, which blamed Kyiv for the attack in the heart of Moscow that could embarrass President Vladimir Putin as he tries to rally support for his war effort in Ukraine.
Russia said an electronic-warfare system downed two unmanned aircraft, which exploded over the Kremlin grounds. The Kremlin said no one was injured and no major damage was caused.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied that Ukraine was behind the attack. “We didn’t attack Putin,” he said in Helsinki, where he was meeting with the leaders of Nordic states.
An adviser to Mr. Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, suggested those responsible were domestic opponents of Mr. Putin.
If Ukraine or its supporters were behind the attack, it would highlight serious vulnerabilities at the heart of Russian power days ahead of Victory Day, a major Russian holiday commemorating Moscow’s victory over Nazi Germany.
It comes before Ukraine’s planned offensive aimed at retaking territory from Russian troops in the country’s east and south.
Questions were also raised as to whether the Kremlin itself was responsible for the incident, which some observers noted could give Mr. Putin political cover for further military mobilization.
In Washington, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. couldn’t verify the authenticity of the reports from the Kremlin, noting that “the United States is certainly not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders.”
Ms. Jean-Pierre also said Russia has carried out so-called false flag attacks before. “Obviously Russia has a history of doing things like this,” she said. “But again, I don’t want to speculate. I don’t want to get into hypotheticals from here.” --->READ MORE HERE
Insanity, they say, consists of doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Russia’s effort to push ever more of its poorly trained, underequipped men into the meat grinder around Bakhmut — where 20,000 of them have died since December, the Pentagon estimates — fits the definition perfectly.
Russian commanders’ continued obstinacy, following months of World War I-style trench warfare, reeks of a fear of reprisals by President Vladimir Putin, who is desperate to point to a modicum of progress in his invasion ahead of the annual May 9 military parade on Red Square.
Together with the fissure that has opened up between Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group (which has been in charge of Russian attacks around Bakhmut), and the Russian defense ministry, these are signs the highly anticipated Ukrainian offensive might live up to the hype.
Militaries, an old adage goes, are defeated very slowly and then all at once. In Russia’s case, the writing has been on the wall since its initial attack on Kyiv collapsed.
Prigozhin warned Saturday that Wagner mercenaries will have to withdraw from Bakhmut unless Russian command provides them with more ammunition.
In response, a leaked letter from the defense ministry enumerated all the artillery ammunition and equipment provided to the group.
Adding insult to injury, Prigozhin sarcastically offered employment with the Wagner Group to Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, who was dismissed Sunday from his post as deputy defense minister for logistics.
Exchanges like this mean only one thing: Russian defeat is in the air, and those around Putin have their knives out. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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