“Russia Reports Drone Attack on Kremlin: News On Ukraine War”

Day 433 since the beginning of the war: In Russia, a fuel depot caught fire near Crimea. Authorities cordon off the southern Ukrainian city of Cherson for more than two days. All information in the blog.

3:05 p.m: Ukraine has denied Russia’s accusation that it tried to attack the Kremlin in Moscow and assassinate President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine has nothing to do with this, says Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Such an approach would not benefit Ukraine on the battlefield and would only provoke Russia to take “more radical measures”. Russia’s statement could indicate that it is preparing to launch a major “terrorist” attack on Ukraine in the coming days.

2:44 p.m.: The head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, assumes that Ukraine’s expected counter-offensive has already begun. His troops are seeing increased activity at the front, Prigozhin said in a statement released via Telegram. The “active phase” of the counteroffensive would begin in the coming days.

1:51 p.m.: Russia has accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin in Moscow with drones on Wednesday night and attempting to kill President Vladimir Putin. Putin was unharmed, he was not in the Kremlin at the time of the attack, the Presidential Office said on Wednesday. “We consider this a planned terrorist attack and an attack on the President on the eve of the Victory Day Parade on May 9th.” The Russian side reserves the right to respond with retaliatory measures where and when it deems appropriate.

Serhii Nikiforov, spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has since denied that Ukraine was involved in the attack on the Kremlin. This is reported by the Ukrainian edition of the BBC.

“Two UAVs were aimed at the Kremlin,” the presidential office said. “Due to timely action by the military and special services using radar warfare systems, the devices were rendered inoperable.”

Debris from the drones fell on the Kremlin premises. There were no casualties, and there was no damage to buildings. In a video shared on social media, faint plumes of smoke could be seen over the Kremlin. The authenticity of the video could not be confirmed at first.

According to the state news agency RIA, Putin carried out his official business on Wednesday at his Novo Ogaryovo residence outside of Moscow. The Office of the President also announced that the military parade on May 9 in Moscow, to which foreign guests are also expected, will be held as planned. This day traditionally celebrates the victory of the Red Army over Nazi Germany.

12:46 p.m.: In the fight against the Russian invasion, Ukraine has praised the Iris-T anti-aircraft systems supplied by Germany. “Since October 2022, the Iris-T missile systems division has destroyed over 60 air targets in the skies over Ukraine!” Air Force Chief Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on Telegram on Wednesday. The 50-year-old thanked the “German partners” and reminded them that Kiev already has two systems.

In a video published for this purpose, an operator with the battle name “Jeweler” is enthusiastic because “all targets have been shot down”. Judging by the radar map shown, a system was in use not far from the southern Ukrainian port of Odessa.