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US denies Russia's accusations of coordinating Kremlin drone attack, EU urges Moscow not to escalate war

by The Kyiv Independent news desk May 4, 2023 9:51 PM 2 min read
An unidentified drone has reportedly exploded just above the Kremlin Senate building on May 3. (Screenshot from the video circulating on social media)
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White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby called Russian claims that the U.S. was behind the May 3 alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Kremlin "ridiculous," CNN reported.

"I would just tell you Mr. (Dmitry) Peskov's lying. I mean, it's obviously a ludicrous claim. The United States had nothing to do with this. We don't even know what happened here," Kirby told CNN. "But I can assure you the United States had no role in it whatsoever."

The White House still doesn't know who was behind the Moscow incident and does not "endorse, encourage, or support attacks on individual leaders," the U.S. official added.

His words come shortly after the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the U.S. had coordinated the purported attack and Ukraine "complied" with the order to carry it out.

ISW: Russia may have staged Kremlin drone strike to bring war home to domestic audience
Several indicators suggest that a drone strike against the Kremlin on May 3 was internally conducted and purposefully staged by Russia, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update.

Peskov also said Russia was considering "a variety of options" on how to respond to the event, which Moscow considers a Ukrainian assassination attempt on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's life.

The European Union's chief diplomat Josep Borrell also reacted to Russian claims, calling on the country "not to use this alleged attack as an excuse to continue the escalation of the war," as quoted by CNN.

"What worries us is this can be used in order to justify more conscription of people, soldiers, more attacks on Ukraine," Borrell told reporters, adding that the "only solution for the war" is to support Ukraine "militarily, politically, and economically."

Russia claimed that the Kremlin was targeted by two drones overnight on May 3. Video footage from Red Square showed drones exploding over the Kremlin's presidential residence.

Ukrainian officials have denied any involvement in the incident. "We do not attack Putin or Moscow. We are fighting on our territory, defending our villages and cities. We don't have enough weapons even for that," said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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