Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to kill Putin with Kremlin drone strike

Moscow has accused Kyiv of staging a drone attack intended to kill the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin, and vowed to retaliate.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that two drones had been used in the attack, but that they had been disabled by Russian defences.

In a statement published on its website, the Kremlin stated it considered the attack a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the life of the president of the Russian Federation.

The Ukrainian president made his comments during a trip to Helsinki, where he also said Ukraine would launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces soon.

One unverified video circulating on social media showed what appeared to be smoke coming out of the Kremlin overnight. A second dramatic clip appeared to show the moment one of the drones hit the rooftop of the Kremlin Senate, an 18th-century mansion within the grounds of the Kremlin.

Several senior officials called on Putin to take retaliatory action.

Ukraine typically declines to claim responsibility for attacks on Russia or Russian-annexed Crimea, though Kyiv officials have frequently celebrated such attacks with cryptic or mocking remarks.

Samuel Bendett, a drone specialist with the Center for Naval Analyses in the US, said the video of what appeared to be the second drone raid suggested the craft had thin wings. That would point to an attack from a relatively sophisticated operator, he said, although not necessarily a state actor, using a drone such as a $9,500 (£7,500) Chinese-made Mugin-5.

Fixed-wing drones have longer ranges and flight times than simple and cheap quadcopters, and a craft such as a Mugin-5 can theoretically fly for seven hours at about 75mph (120km/h), making long-range operation possible.

Russian drone experts speculated on whether the drone was launched from as far afield as Ukraine, theoretically possible despite the distances, or from somewhere close to Moscow.

It may have also been equipped with anti-jamming devices, he added.

The attack at the Kremlin came days before the 9 May Victory Day parade that marks the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. The Victory Day parade in Red Square, which is located next to the Kremlin, is a highly symbolic annual demonstration of military might in Russia, during which Putin traditionally gives a speech.

Earlier in the year, Russia installed missile systems designed to intercept aircraft and incoming missiles on top of several defence and administrative buildings in central Moscow.