2023-05-05 04:14:00
Russia Discusses Appropriate Response to Drone Attack But numerous experts accuse the Kremlin of deliberate staging.
Moscow – The message from the Kremlin was clear. The Ukrainian armed forces sent two drones on their way to the Russian capital on Wednesday night to visit the President Wladimir Putin to kill. The Russian presidential office spoke of a “terrorist attack” on the Russian autocrat. Videos of the alleged attack were widely shared on Twitter and other networks. Does he Ukraine war So now Putin’s power center has also been reached? But there are strong doubts about the Russian representation. Did the Kremlin stage the attack for its own people?
Ukraine war: Zelenskyy denies responsibility for drone attack on Kremlin
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Selenskyj denied on Wednesday that Kiev was responsible for the drone attack. The Ukraine was too busy “defending our villages and towns” to carry out such an action, the 44-year-old explained at a press conference. Zelenskyy added: “Even for that we don’t have enough weapons.”
The military experts at the US think tank “Institute for the Study of War” also assume that Ukraine is not responsible for the attack. “Russia probably staged this attack to bring the war to a domestic Russian audience and to create conditions for broader societal mobilization,” the ISW wrote in its daily situation report on Thursday.
Attack on the Kremlin: ISW experts consider staging by Russia to be very likely
Several indicators would speak for a staging by the Kremlin. For example, the military administration in Moscow had significantly expanded the city’s air defenses since the beginning of the war. The ISW experts consider it unlikely that two drones could overcome this air defense and advance to the Kremlin. In addition, the drones were shot down or detonated right over the heart of the Kremlin and the event was captured on camera with good footage. Perfect conditions for a media presentation.
The ISW report went on to say: “The Kremlin’s immediate, coherent and coordinated response to the incident suggests that the attack was prepared internally.” Shortly after the incident, the Kremlin spoke of a terrorist attack by Ukraine. Russian propagandists and politicians were also quick to endorse this narrative.
Mark N. Katz of the George Mason University Schar School of Policy pointed out to the US portal Newsweek also pointed out that the chances of success of such an attack were extremely low. “Even if they (the drones, Anm. d. Red.) were armed, the probability of locating Putin’s whereabouts within the Kremlin complex was quite low.” Russian media said on Wednesday that Putin was not actually in the Kremlin at the time of the attack. According to Russian information, no one was injured in the drone attack.
Renewed escalation in the Ukraine war? Russian officials call for consequences for ‘terrorist attack’
But even if Ukrainian forces are indeed behind the desperate attempt to attack Putin, the Kremlin can now use the circumstances to its advantage. After the attack, the Presidential Office said it reserved the right to respond accordingly. On Wednesday, various military bloggers and public figures called for a decisive reaction from the Kremlin. The former Separatist leader and war criminal Igor Girkin advocated a definitive escalation of the war against Ukraine. Russia would have allowed Kiev to cross several “red lines” without responding adequately.
It is currently still unclear what such an escalation could look like. The experts at the ISW assume that the incident could be used primarily to justify “increased mobilization measures” within Russian society.
Ukraine War: Is Selenskyj caught in the crosshairs? Medvedev calls for “physical elimination”
For Mark N. Katz, a conceivable reaction would also be an increased focus on Zelenskyj. The Russian armed forces, for their part, could prepare an attack on the Ukrainian president. “A desperate Putin might be hoping that taking out Zelenskyy might be Russia’s best hope to wreak political havoc in Ukraine and weaken its war effort,” Katz told Newsweek.
Corresponding demands were already made on Wednesday. In response, the head of Russia’s lower house, Vyacheslav Volodin, called for the government in Kiev to be “destroyed”. There could be “no negotiations” with Zelensky’s government. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for the “physical elimination” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “and his clique”. In his eyes, Zelenskyy “is not needed to sign the surrender of Ukraine,” Medvedev wrote.
Response to alleged drone attack: Another turning point in the Ukraine war?
Another possible response would be a renewed increase in attacks on Ukrainian metropolises with bombs and rockets. However, it is unclear whether Russia has enough military capacity to expand the attacks again. In the past few months again and again from a shortage of ammunition in Russia reported. Depending on the Kremlin’s reactions, Wednesday’s incident could prove to be a pivotal event in the Ukraine war. Maybe even as a possible turning point. (fd with afp)
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