Putin ally calls for ‘weapons capable of destroying Kyiv’ after ‘planned terrorist act’ on Kremlin
Russia has claimed it stopped two drone attacks on Vladimir Putin’s presidential home overnight and threatened to retaliate against Kyiv.
The Kremlin blamed Ukraine for what it called a “terrorist act” and said Russian military and security forces disabled the drones before they could strike.
No victims or damage were reported and Mr Putin was not injured, it added.
Ukraine latest – Putin ‘assassination attempt’ as Kremlin home ‘attacked’
The influential speaker of Russia’s parliament demanded the use of “weapons capable of stopping and destroying the Kyiv terrorist regime” in response.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Vyacheslav Volodin said Russia should not negotiate with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the purported attack.
“On Wednesday night, the Kyiv regime made an attempt to strike using a UAV the Kremlin residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“Two unmanned aerial vehicles were aimed at the Kremlin.
“As a result of timely actions taken by the military and special services with the use of radar warfare systems, the vehicles were disabled.”
The Kremlin did not present any evidence to back up its account, including the allegation it was an assassination attempt as Russia prepares to observe its annual Victory Day next Tuesday.
It said Russia reserved the right to retaliate – suggesting Moscow might use the alleged attack to further escalate its war in Ukraine.
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Analysis of ‘terrorist’ drone attack
Footage appears to show flying object exploding
Footage on Russian social media appears to show a flying object exploding over the dome of the Kremlin senate building overlooking Red Square.
Another video appears to show a plume of smoke rising over the Kremlin following the alleged attack.
Sky News has been unable to independently verify the footage.
Putin was not in Kremlin
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that Mr Putin was not in the Kremlin at the time and was working in Novo-Ogaryovo, outside of Moscow.
The Kremlin added that Mr Putin’s schedule was unchanged.
Mr Peskov said Russia’s Victory Day parade would take place as scheduled on 9 May. The major public holiday commemorates the Soviet Victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War and presents an opportunity for Mr Putin to rally Russians behind his “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Security is being beefed up in Moscow while several Russian regions have announced they are scaling back their celebrations due to fears pro-Ukrainian saboteurs could target the festivities.
Shortly before news about the alleged attack broke Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the city had introduced an immediate ban on unauthorised drone flights.
Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. Pic: AP
Kyiv denies it carried out alleged strike
A senior Ukrainian presidential official said Kyiv had nothing to do with the alleged drone strike.
Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the Kremlin’s allegations suggest Russia could be preparing for a large-scale “terrorist” attack against Ukraine in the coming days.
“Of course, Ukraine has nothing to do with drone attacks on the Kremlin. We do not attack the Kremlin because, first of all, it does not resolve any military problems,” he said.
“And most importantly, it would allow Russia to justify massive strikes on Ukrainian cities, on the civilian population, on infrastructure facilities. Why do we need this?”
He added: “In my opinion, it is absolutely obvious that both ‘reports about an attack on the Kremlin’ and simultaneously
the supposed detention of Ukrainian saboteurs in Crimea… clearly indicate the preparation of a large-scale terrorist provocation by Russia in the coming days.”
People gather on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building after the attack
Air strike alerts issued in Ukraine
Shortly after the Kremlin’s accusation Ukraine reported alerts for air strikes over Kyiv and other cities.
Military analyst Sean Bell told Sky News that while Ukraine has been doing “a lot of activity with drones”, it “does feel odd that Ukraine would be so audacious as to mount something in Moscow”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington could not validate reports Ukraine had targeted Mr Putin, adding in an interview with the Washington Post that he would take anything coming from the Kremlin “with a large shaker of salt”.
Asked if the US would criticise Kyiv if it decided on its own to strike back in Russian territory, Mr Blinken said it was up to Ukraine to decide how to defend itself.
Russian accusations of cross-border attacks
Russia has accused Ukraine of several cross-border attacks since the start of the war, including strikes in December on an air base deep inside Russian territory that houses strategic bomber planes equipped to carry nuclear weapons.
In February a drone crashed in Kolomna, around 110km (70 miles) from the centre of Moscow.
More than 100 politicians from 24 different countries, including the UK, the US and the EU, have written a joint letter condemning China over the “arbitrary detention and unfair trial” of Jimmy Lai, a tycoon and pro-democracy campaigner.
The parliamentarians, led by senior British Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, are “urgently” demanding the immediate release of the 77-year-old British citizen, who has been held in solitary confinement at a maximum security prison in Hong Kong for almost four years.
The letter – which will be embarrassing for Beijing – was made public on the eve of Mr Lai’s trial resuming and on the day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a G20 summit of economic powers in Brazil.
It also comes as Hong Kong jailed 45 pro-democracy activists.
The group of politicians, who also include representatives from Canada, Australia, Spain, Germany, Ukraine and France, said Mr Lai’s treatment was “inhumane”.
“He is being tried on trumped-up charges arising from his peaceful promotion of democracy, his journalism and his human rights advocacy,” they wrote in the letter, which has been seen by Sky News.
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Starmer meets Chinese president
“The world is watching as the rule of law, media freedom and human rights in Hong Kong are eroded and undermined.
“We stand together in our defence of these fundamental freedoms and in our demand that Jimmy Lai be released immediately and unconditionally.”
Sir Keir raised the case of Mr Lai during remarks released at the start of his talks with Mr Xi on Monday – the first meeting between a British prime minister and the Chinese leader in six years.
The prime minister could be heard expressing concerns about reports of Mr Lai’s deteriorating health. However, he did not appear to call for his immediate release.
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From October: ‘This is what Hong Kong is’
Ms Kearns, the MP for Rutland and Stamford in the East Midlands, said the meeting had been an opportunity to be unequivocal that the UK expects Mr Lai to be freed.
“Jimmy Lai is being inhumanely persecuted for standing up for basic human values,” she said in a statement, released alongside the letter.
“He represents the flame of freedom millions seek around the world.
“We have a duty to fight for Jimmy Lai as a British citizen, and to take a stand against the Chinese Community Party’s erosion of rule of law in Hong Kong.
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“This letter represents the strength of international feeling and commitment of parliamentarians globally to securing Jimmy Lai’s immediate release and return to the UK with his family.”
Mr Lai was famously the proprietor of the Chinese-language newspaper Apple Daily in Hong Kong, which wrote scathing reports about the local authorities and the communist government in mainland China after Britain handed back the territory to Beijing in 1997.
The tabloid was a strong supporter of pro-democracy protesters who took to the streets of Hong Kong to demonstrate against the government in 2019.
But the media mogul was arrested the following year – one of the first victims of a draconian new security law imposed by the Chinese Communist Party.
His newspaper was closed after his bank accounts were frozen.
Mr Lai has since been convicted of illegal assembly and fraud. He is now on trial for sedition over articles published in Apple Daily.
World
Hong Kong jails 45 pro-democracy activists after accusing them of trying to overthrow the city’s government
Forty-five pro-democracy activists have been jailed in Hong Kong’s largest ever national security trial.
The activists sentenced with jail terms ranging from four years to ten years were accused of conspiracy to commit subversion after holding an unofficial primary election in Hong Kong in 2020.
They were arrested in 2021.
Hong Kong authorities say the defendants were trying to overthrow the territory’s government.
Democracy activist Benny Tai received the longest sentence of ten years. He became the face of the movement when thousands of protesters took to the city’s streets during the “Umbrella Movement” demonstrations.
However, Hong Kong officials accused him of being behind the plan to organise elections to select candidates.
Tai had pleaded guilty, his lawyers argued he believed his election plan was allowed under the city’s Basic Law.
Another prominent activist Joshua Wong received a sentence of more than four years.
Joshua Wong was sentenced to more than four years Pic: AP
Wong became one of the leading figures in the protests. His activism started as a 15 year old when he spearheaded a huge rally against a government plan to change the school curriculum.
Then in 2019 Hong Kong erupted in protests after the city’s government proposed a bill that would allow extradition to mainland China. It peaked in June 2019 when Amnesty International reported that up to two million people marched on the streets, paralysing parts of Hong Kong’s business district.
The extradition bill was later dropped but it had ignited a movement demanding political change and freedom to elect their own leaders in Hong Kong.
China’s central government called the protests “riots” that could not continue.
Hong Kong introduced a national security law in the aftermath of the protests.
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A woman is taken away by police outside the court Pic: Reuters
The US has called the trial “politically motivated”.
Dozens of family and friends of the accused were waiting for the verdict outside the West Kowloon Magistrates Court.
British citizen and media mogul Jimmy Lai is due to testify on Wednesday.
Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 in Brazil, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told China’s President Xi Jinping he’s concerned about the health of Lai.
He faces charges of fraud and the 2019 protests. He has also been charged with sedition and collusion with foreign forces.
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