A new flashpoint in
Russia's war against Ukraine.
Moscow accusing
Ukraine of trying to assassinate
President Vladimir Putin
with drone strikes on the Kremlin
the Kiev government
denying any involvement
and suggesting
suggesting Russians
may actually be to blame for that.
Here's CNN senior
international correspondent
Matthew Chance.
Is this the moment
Russia's war in Ukraine
finally struck home
to drone attacks on the Kremlin?
Minutes apart,
leaving smoke
billowing from the historic buildings
and an extraordinary scene
of vulnerability
at the heart of the Russian state.
Russia's gastronomy.
It was hours before Kremlin controlled TV
announced the news
in the form of an official statement
blaming Ukraine
Last night's the Kiev regime
attempted a drone strike
against the residence of the president
of the Russian Federation.
The statement reads We view these actions
as a planned terrorist attack
and an assassination attempt.
Adding that Russia reserves the right
to take countermeasures wherever
and whenever it deems appropriate.
Amid calls in Russia
for an overwhelming
military response,
Ukraine's president visiting Finland
is distancing his country
from the incident.
We don't attack
Putin or Moscow
We fight on on our territory.
And we are defending our villages
and cities.
We don't have,
you know, enough weapons for these.
It's more likely a false flag operation
or local resistance forces in Russia,
say Ukrainian officials
that are responsible for this
In recent weeks,
even days have seen an upsurge
in unexplained attacks
inside Russian territory
like this train derailment
in the Bryant Park
region near the Ukrainian border,
or this key oil storage facility
in southern Russia
annexed Crimea,
set ablaze, also using a drone causing
significant disruption
One former Russian lawmaker
now in exile
and linked with groups
carrying out operations
in Russia
tells CNN the Kremlin attack is the work
of what he calls Russian Partizans.
Some of them are focused on
railroad sabotage
or some of them doing arsons
or military recruitment.
Posts, some of them doing attacks on
activists, pro-war
activists, some of them doing
hacking attacks.
Are any of these partizans
supported by
the Ukrainian special services,
for instance,
because Ukraine says
it's got nothing to do with this attack.
Do you believe that claim?
Well, look,
Ukrainians, it has nothing to do with us
because it's
all organized by the Russians.
But whoever's responsible is a threat
at the moment.
Preparations are continuing
for the annual
May the Ninth Victory Day
Parade in Red
Square near where the drones struck.
But the weakness
and the insecurity of the Kremlin
has now been exposed for all to see.
But, Wolf, as well as publicly
denying any involvement
with this drone
incident, Ukrainian officials
tell us tonight
that they're also
privately reiterating that two officials
in the United States
and other allies as well.
Meanwhile, in Russia,
there are calls for vengeance
in the media
and among senior Russian officials
after what many they view
as a humiliating strike
in the heart of the Russian capital Wolf.
Matthew Chance reporting for us.
Thank you, Matthew.
Let's bring in our experts,
our national security,
the military and Russia
and General Retired General Spider Marks.
Let's talk about the possibilities
of who is behind this.
What's your analysis
Well, first
of all, we have to all agree
that something like this occurred,
that this wasn't staged.
I would
I would suggest that it's
probably some independent organization
as described
in the previous report,
could be partizans.
Clearly,
there is an element within Russia
that does not agree
with what Putin is trying to achieve
and has been a part of this journey
over the course of the last 18 months
where it's going sideways multiple times.
So you could see that
the element of control is starting to be,
you know,
those controls are starting
to be released
somewhat by internal organizations.
And this may be exactly
what we're seeing.
I tend to believe that
it was not the Ukrainians
because they wouldn't
have been able
to transit the excess of 300 miles
from the border of Ukraine
and hover over the Kremlin
that would speak
horribly toward the Russian air defense
I don't know that it's that bad.
Yeah. Good point. A best center.
What do you see
as a possible explanation
and how do you assess
the Russian claim
that this was actually
a Ukrainian assassination
attempt against Putin?
Well, I agree with
Spider that it probably
you know,
there are a lot of reasons
why it wouldn't be Russia
just because it exposes
so many weaknesses.
On the other hand,
you can see
how Russia might see this
as a necessary part of
of rallying people around the flag.
You know,
that said, I'm
not sure I agree
that the Ukrainians don't
have the ability to do this.
They have long range drones.
There have been drones
within, you know, tens of miles of
of the Kremlin.
I would say, though,
on the whole idea of the assassination,
that's really poppycock.
I can't imagine that that is at all
in the realm of possibility.
It's not like a drone carries
a bunker buster.
So that's kind of silly.
And and if anything, it is
just a way of Moscow
spinning this story to make it look less
bad and less less embarrassing
and give them
give them an excuse
to conduct more attacks.
Jill Dougherty,
you're an expert on Russia.
How do you think this might play into
Putin's mindset? What happened today
Well, I think he will be infuriated, No.
One.
Because I do agree it's
highly embarrassing.
I mean,
even if you thought
that it was a false flag giving Russia
a cover to attack Ukraine,
they don't really need that anymore.
So I think,
you know, for the Russian public,
this is very worrying and embarrassing
that even right in the heart of Moscow,
they're not protected.
Even in a way Putin wasn't,
because the Kremlin is the most
highly protected official place
probably in the world.
So and the other thing I think that's
very worrying about this
is there is a possibility
that there could be
these partizan groups.
And if they are
and this is still a theory,
it could be an excuse by the Kremlin
to have a purge.
I mean, in Russian history,
there have been events
like an assassination of Kirov,
who was the head of the Leningrad Party
back in the 1930s.
Stalin launched the Great Purge.
So you never know how you know
that might be an excuse
for launching
an internal operation against their
own people.
Interesting.
Indeed.
All right, guys, thank
you very, very much.