U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Ukrainians were likely behind the May 3 drone attack on the Kremlin, the New York Times reported on May 24.
According to the New York Times, it remains unclear which of Ukraine's special military or intelligence units were behind the attack, and whether or not President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top officials were aware of the operation.
U.S. intelligence has a "low" level of confidence in the theory that the Kremlin orchestrated the attack, "but that is because intelligence agencies do not yet have specific evidence identifying which government officials, Ukrainian units or operatives were involved," the New York Times wrote.
The New York Times was told by U.S. officials that "some Ukrainian covert operatives work largely independently and without direct supervision from Zelensky or his top deputies" and "the extent to which (Zelensky) is aware of them in advance is unclear."
As such, U.S. officials believe that Zelensky and his top officials have "set broad parameters for covert campaigns, leaving decisions about who and what to target to the security services and their operatives," allowing them plausible deniability should they end up public.
Russian state media RIA Novosti said on May 3 that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's Kremlin residence was targeted by two Ukrainian drones overnight.
The alleged drone attack occurred in the days leading up to Russia's planned May 9 celebration to commemorate the Soviet Union's role in the victory against Nazi Germany.
Anastasiia Lapatina
