One of Ukraine’s military or intelligence special units was “likely” behind the May 3 drone attack in Moscow, the New York Times reported on Wednesday citing anonymous US officials.
US intelligence agencies have assessed this based in part on intercepted communications of both Russian and Ukrainian officials, according to the Times. However, they “do not know which unit carried out the attack” and some officials believe President Vladimir Zelensky may not have been aware or involved. The US reportedly does not have “specific evidence” yet as to which operatives or agency was involved.
Two drones went down in the Kremlin airspace earlier this month. Video from surveillance cameras showed one exploding above the roof of the building hosting presidential offices. President Vladimir Putin was not there at the time. Moscow accused Kiev of attempting to assassinate Putin and vowed retaliation. Zelensky – who had just left for a tour of the EU – denied Ukraine had anything to do with it.
Major media outlets in the US and the UK quickly accused Moscow of staging a “false flag” incident to make Ukraine look bad.