Russia has accused Washington of being behind what it says was a drone attack on the Kremlin and an assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin, the latest in a series of extraordinary allegations over the incident on Wednesday.
When asked by CNN if the Kremlin believed the US was behind the attack, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “Undoubtedly, Such decisions, the definition of goals, the definition of means — all this is dictated to Kyiv from Washington.”
“We are well aware of this,” he added.
“We are well aware that decisions on such actions and such terrorist attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington. And Kyiv is already executing what it is told to do,” Peskov said.
“Such attempts to disown this both in Kyiv and in Washington are, of course, absolutely ridiculous.”
The Kremlin spokesperson doubled down on the accusations, without providing any evidence, expanding on Russia’s view of how these decisions are made.
“We know that it is often not even Kyiv who determines the goals themselves, they are determined in Washington, and then these goals are brought to Kyiv so that Kyiv fulfils [those tasks],” Peskov said. “Not every time Kyiv is given the right to choose the means, this is also often ordered from across the ocean.”
“Washington must clearly understand that we know this,” he added.
Peskov did not provide any evidence to his claims, nor additional details regarding the alleged attack, saying that information would be released later.
He also told journalists Putin is “calm,” despite the alleged attack and assassination attempt.
“You know that in such difficult, extreme situations, the president always remains calm, collected, clear in his assessments, in the commands he gives out,” he added. “Therefore, nothing changed in this regard.”
He told CNN during the call with reporters that the alleged strike damaged two of the Senate Palace’s copper sheets, which will be repaired.
Some background: Earlier this week, Russia claimed Ukraine launched a drone strike targeting the Kremlin in an attempt to kill Putin, the official residence of the Russian president and the most potent symbol of power in Moscow.
Ukraine has strongly denied involvement in the alleged strike.
US officials said earlier that they were still assessing the incident, and had no information about who might have been responsible.
CNN’s Sebastian Shukla, Nathan Hodge, Matthew Chance and Katharina Krebs contributed reporting.
