Nicolas Tonev / Photo credits: Pavel BEDNYAKOV / SPUTNIK / AFP
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10:51 p.m., May 03, 2023
Russia accuses Ukraine of attempting to assassinate its President Vladimir Putin with a drone attack on the Kremlin. A version that kyiv denied during the day. In reality, it is unlikely that Ukrainian forces tried to kill the Russian president because multiple elements raise questions.
Was Vladimir Putin really targeted by a Ukrainian drone attack on Wednesday? That’s what the Kremlin claims after shooting down two craft over the Russian place of power. In the afternoon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied any attack on his counterpart. Is this therefore a manipulation of Russia? One element first pleads doubt: the sudden appearance of images on pro-Russian sites. It is difficult to authenticate what is happening in these images.
Images of the drone attack on the Kremlin. (NEXTA) #Russiapic.twitter.com/xNHpr54SlO
– Mediavenir (@Mediavenir) May 3, 2023
Vladimir Putin had no reason to be in this building
Then, the argument of an assassination attempt on the master of the Kremlin does not really hold up, given the weak explosion that we see in these images. Vladimir Putin also has no reason to be in that building, the Senate Palace, at 2 a.m. local time. Another curious element, the arrival of a drone from Ukraine after a flight of more than 500 kilometers above Russia. Indeed, Moscow is one of the cities in the world to benefit around its outskirts from one of the most efficient anti-aircraft defense systems. If a drone arrives above the Kremlin, it is a total failure for the Russian military.
One must also take into account the history of the FSB, the country’s intelligence service, culturally in manipulation. The biggest of them to justify an all-out war of elimination dates back to 1999, with attacks attributed to the Chechens which killed more than 300 people in Moscow. This had triggered the second war in Chechnya which left more than 120,000 dead, and to establish the power of Vladimir Putin. In reality, the FSB was behind these attacks and all those who investigated this lead were murdered.