ADDS COMMENTS BY UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine on Wednesday denied any involvement in an attack on the Kremlin, which the Russian presidency defined as a “terrorist” attempt by Kyiv.
"As (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated, Ukraine directs all available forces and funds to the liberation of its own territories, and not to the attack of foreign ones," Ukraine’s Presidential Press Secretary Serhii Nykyforov said, according to the state news agency Ukrinform.
Separately, Mykhailo Podolyak, Ukrainian presidential adviser, claimed the incident to be "all predictable" in a statement on Twitter.
"Russia is clearly preparing a large-scale terrorist attack. That's why it first detains a large allegedly subversive group in Crimea. And then it demonstrates 'drones over the Kremlin'," Podolyak further claimed.
He also reiterated that Ukraine wages an "exclusively defensive war" and "does not attack targets on the territory of the Russian Federation," adding that this does not solve any military issue, but rather gives Russia grounds to "justify its attacks on civilians."
"The loss of power control over the country by Putin’s clan is obvious. But on the other hand, Russia has repeatedly talked about its total control over the air. In a word, something is happening in RF (Russian Federation), but definitely without Ukraine's drones over the Kremlin," he claimed.
Earlier in the day, Kremlin claimed that Ukraine attempted to strike the Kremlin residence with two drones, which it said were shot down.
“We regard these actions as a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the (Russian) President (Vladimir Putin), carried out on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9th Parade, at which the presence of foreign guests is also planned,” the Kremlin said.
It added that Putin was not injured by the alleged attack and that the Russian side reserves “the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it sees fit.”
Following the news of the attempted attack, Moscow banned drone flights in the capital.