Kremlin, Moscow
Moscow/Washington/Kyiv: While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the drone attack on Kremlin and the United States stated it was “unable to confirm” the authenticity of the attack on the night of May 3, 2023, Russia today asserted “there is no doubt that the Kyiv regime is behind these attacks”.
“Crimes like this cannot go unanswered,” the Russian foreign office stated and reaffirmed that Russia reserves the right to take countermeasures in response to these “outrageous acts of terrorism”. It stated that Moscow’s response will hinge on the assessment of the threats posed by Kyiv to the leadership of Russia.The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case into actions designed to intimidate and terrorise people, inflict damage and kill people as a means of influencing the decision-making process by government agencies.
“We are certain that those who bear the blame for these acts will be identified. They will face imminent and inevitable punishment,” Moscow said. It claimed that the Kiev regime’s “criminal actions confirm yet again that Kiev does not want peace or to settle the conflict by political and diplomatic means. This makes fulfilling all the objectives and goals of Russia’s special military operation even more obvious. There must be no security threats emanating from the territory of Ukraine and no terrorist attacks must be perpetrated from there”.
The Russian foreign ministry sought to highlight Ukraine’s “long-standing” record of intentionally supporting and employing terrorist methods against civilian infrastructure and civilians, including the October 8, 2022, explosion on the Crimean Bridge, strikes against non-military targets in the Bryansk, Belgorod and Rostov regions, as well as many acts of sabotage.
“Now comes Moscow. The terrorist activity and acts of sabotage by the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been gathering unprecedented momentum,” it said, and added: “This crime is aggravated by the fact that the Moscow Kremlin serves as the residence of the head of state. What makes the actions of the neo-Nazi Ukrainian authorities especially cynical is that they made an attempt to assassinate the President of Russia ahead of Victory Day and the May 9 Parade, where Great Patriotic War veterans, who had shed their blood in the fight against Nazism and fascism, including on Ukrainian territory, will be present.”Earlier in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy told a journalist that “We are attacking neither Putin nor Moscow. We are fighting on our own territory, defending our villages and cities.” He claimed Ukraine was experiencing a shortage of weapons to ensure its defense, so the Ukrainian army does not use them anywhere else but on the battlefield. “We cannot use anything anywhere. That is why we did not attack Putin. We will leave it to the tribunal,” he stated.
However, Russia went on to blame the “Western countries” (Read NATO member countries including the US), which provide the Kyiv regime with weapons, intelligence data, train its fighters and assign targets. “The silence on behalf of the collective West demonstrates its connivance with the terrorist methods employed by the neo-Nazi extremist regime in Kyiv,” the Russian foreign ministry stated.
The United States, though, sought to clarify that since the beginning of this conflict, it was “certainly not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders”. “We’ve been very clear from here about that, the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told journalists in Washington.
– global bihari bureau
