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IN BRIEF: Ukrainian drone attack on Kremlin

It is reported that Russia retains the right to respond in kind "whenever and wherever it sees fit"

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. Ukraine attempted to attack the Kremlin in the early hours of Wednesday, using two drones, the Russian presidential press service said, adding that there were no casualties in the incident.

The Kremlin said that the incident was considered to be an attempted assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia retains the right to respond in kind "whenever and wherever it sees fit," the press service added.

TASS has summarized what is known thus far about the incident.

Circumstances of the attack

Read also

Kiev’s drones attacked Kremlin at night, Putin unharmed — presidential press service

- Two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were targeted at the presidential residence inside the Kremlin, Putin’s press service said, without elaborating on the specific types of drones used.

- Military personnel and security officers took "timely actions using electronic warfare systems" to disable the drones, the Kremlin added.

- The disabled drones fell, scattering wreckage, which caused neither any casualties nor material damages.

The Kremlin’s conclusions

- Moscow regards the incident "as a premeditated terrorist attack and an attempted assassination of the president of the Russian Federation," the Kremlin said. Putin was not harmed in the attack.

- No changes have been made in Putin’s schedule and the head of state continues to work in his usual regime. On Wednesday, he held a meeting with Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor Gleb Nikitin at his suburban residence in Novo-Ogaryovo.

- "Russia reserves the right to take retaliatory measures whenever and wherever it sees fit," the presidential press service stressed.

Victory Day parade to proceed as planned

- The Kremlin said in the statement that the attack had been carried out "ahead of Victory Day and the May 9 parade, at which plans call for foreign guests to be in attendance."

- Nevertheless, the incident will have no impact on the Kremlin’s plans; the Victory Day parade will take place on Red Square on May 9 as planned, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS. Putin will take part in the ceremonies marking the 78th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War.

Ban on drones

- Before the Kremlin statement was released, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced a ban on flying drones in the skies over the capital city, with an exemption for UAVs deployed "by decision of the government."

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