The war of words is in full swing over who was behind the alleged drone attack against Russia’s center of power on the night of Wednesday. Two drones exploded right next to a dome and a flagpole with the Russian flag. The Russian authorities were quick to claim that Ukraine was behind what they called “a terrorist attack”. They also claimed that it was an assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin. PROHIBITED: A poster at Den rode plass shows that it is not allowed to use drones in the area. Photo: Reuters Today, the president’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, accuses the United States of having organized the attack. – Everyone knows that decisions about such actions and terrorist attacks are made in Washington, not in Kyiv, says Peskov, according to the state-run Russian news agency Ria Novosti. This is rejected by spokesman John Kirby in the White House. – Russian claims that the US had something to do with the drones are false, he says. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that Ukraine is not attacking Putin or Moscow, and that the country is fighting on its own territory. Difficult matter The American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that the alleged drone attack in Moscow was probably staged by the Russian authorities. According to the institute, the aim is to mobilize support for the war in Ukraine among the Russian population. ARCHIVE: President Vladimir Putin visits a Russian drone manufacturer. Photo: Reuters The Norwegian Russia experts news has spoken to emphasize that it is very difficult to speculate on who could be behind it. Much is still unclear, and what happened is quite surprising. It is the first time there has been such an apparent direct attack on the Kremlin. Pointing towards Russia – Most things point to the drone attack being something the Kremlin itself has arranged, says researcher Karen-Anna Eggen at the Institute for Defense Studies to news. GATHERING SUPPORT: Researcher Karen-Anna Eggen at the Department of Defense Studies believes that the Russian authorities may be behind the alleged drone attack. Photo: Nuno Duarte / news She points out that this is the most guarded building in Moscow, and that the security around President Putin is extreme. According to Eggen, an assassination attempt against Putin would have required a completely different type of operation. She says that the alleged drone attack and accusations can be used internally to claim that Russia is under attack from Ukraine and the West. Tor Bukkvoll is chief researcher at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute. He doubts that the Russian authorities themselves have launched a drone attack. UNTYPICAL: Chief researcher Tor Bukkvoll at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute believes the alleged attack shows a lack of control. Photo: FFI – President Putin usually wants to show that he is in control. This attack shows a lack of control, says Bukkvoll to news. He is surprised that the Russian authorities went ahead with the case yesterday as they did. According to Bukkvol, what happened indicates that Russia does not have an air defense that can stop larger drones. The Russian website Meduza, which is based in the Baltics, writes that the drones must have had a wingspan of several metres. Information war The alleged drone attack against the Kremlin occurs just a few days before the planned military victory parade on Red Square on May 9. It is held to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory over the Nazis in World War II. Researcher Jakub M. Godzimirski at the Institute of Foreign Policy emphasizes that much is still unclear. But he believes that the Russian authorities may be interested in drawing attention away from the heavy losses in the war in Ukraine. ATTENTION: Researcher Jakub M. Godzimirski at the Institute of Foreign Policy believes that Russia may want to divert attention from the war in Ukraine. Photo: Christopher Olssøn – The drone attack is an important symbolic act. But it seems quite unrealistic that this would be an assassination aimed at President Putin, he says to news. The researcher also believes that the attack may be part of the ongoing information war, and that the authorities want to rally the population behind the country’s leadership. Ukraine denies The Ukrainian authorities thus deny that they had anything to do with the alleged drone attack. PARADE: The alleged drone attack occurs just a few days before the victory parade on Red Square on May 9. Photo: AFP The researchers Bukkvoll and Godzimirski say that the Ukrainian authorities have previously shown that they are capable of sending drones over great distances into Russia. But they also point out that yesterday’s drones should have been intercepted by the Russian air defense long before they reached the Kremlin. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says that the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin gives Russia no other option than to “eliminate” President Zelensky. – An accusation of attempted assassination can be used to target political targets and key buildings in Kyiv more specifically, says researcher Eggen. STUNNING PHOTO: This photo is supposed to show one of the alleged drones exploding over the Kremlin. Photo: Reuters She believes that it can take attention away from how many rockets Russia has sent against Ukraine in the last week alone. It is an attempt to portray Ukraine as an actor as threatening and brutal as Russia. Several experts also speculate whether underground groups in Russia may have had something to do with the alleged attack. But there is great uncertainty about who these might be and how strong they might be in a thoroughly controlled society like the Russian one.
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