US officials have said that Ukraine is responsible for the drone strike on the Kremlin that took place earlier this month. The attack was part of a series of targeted attacks on Russian infrastructure, per the New York Post.
Though Russia had claimed that the Ukrainian military had attempted to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin in the failed attack, Moscow claimed that the attack had been supported by the US. The report noted that there were two drones that were used in the so-called assassination attempt, but they were quickly disabled by Russian defense systems.
US intelligence agencies are still unsure which Ukrainian unit carried out the attack, and it is also not known if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or his top officials were aware of the attack. There was reportedly one drone that caused a fire, and the second drone exploded. No one was injured in the attack.
The Post reported that the recent attack has raised concerns for the US. With the Biden administration equipping Ukraine with military weapons, it is possible that Russia could blame the US for the attack, leading to Moscow expanding its war efforts beyond Ukrainian borders.
The report went on to note that the US had intercepted communications in Ukraine, which suggested that Ukrainian officials had mentioned that the attack had been carried out without the approval of Zelensky or his top staff.
However, Zelensky had made it clear that Ukraine “didn’t attack Putin,” going on to say that he has kept the fighting within Ukraine’s borders. He has insisted that Ukraine has only used its weapons for defense purposes.
The US has suggested that the drone attack was carried out by Ukraine’s special military operation or intelligence units, per the Post. However, the report also noted that intelligence reports indicate that Ukraine is not able to carry out such an attack, which could mean that Russia had executed a false-flag operation that would give Russian precedence to escalate the conflict beyond Ukraine.
Former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Rebekah Koffler said at the time: “I stand by my assessment that the drone strike — just like the industrial sabotage operation targeting Russia’s Nord Stream pipeline — was a false flag operation orchestrated by Putin’s regime.
“Ukraine by itself without external assistance is incapable of mounting such an operation.”
The recent development comes as Zelensky has tried to gain membership into NATO following the G7 summit, but it appears that Ukraine is not eligible to become a member. As Ukraine is currently engaged in a war with Russia, if the country gained membership, it would trigger Article Five, meaning that all NATO countries would be in a war with one of the most dangerous nuclear powers in the world.
