Speculation in the Western media that the 3 May attack on the Kremlin by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) was planned by Moscow itself are no better than the ludicrous allegations that Russia blew up its own Nord Stream gas pipelines, American journalist and lawyer Glenn Greenwald has said.
Greenwald went on Twitter to dismiss such claims as “laughable”, and included in his post a link to a story in a US media publication.
Screenshot of Twitter post by investigative journalist Glen Greenwald
© Photo : Twitter
The outlet in question was referring to Wednesday's incident, when two drones approaching the Kremlin were spotted by Russian security personnel who immediately moved to intercept and neutralize the threat. Both UAVs were brought down with the help of electronic warfare equipment, with their debris scattered on the Kremlin's premises. According to the Kremlin's press service, the attack did not result in any injuries or "material damage".
When the attack was launched days ahead of Victory Day - a major Russian holiday commemorating this country's victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War, otherwise known as the Great Patriotic War - President Vladimir Putin, who has continued to perform his duties, was not present at the Kremlin, his press service announced. In a statement issued later that day, the Kremlin described this attack as a "planned terrorist act and an attempt on the life of the President of the Russian Federation" Vladimir Putin.
After the incident, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced a ban on the use of UAVs in the city, except for those "used by state authorities".
The regime in Kiev responded to the attack by denying any involvement.
“We didn’t attack Putin,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, speaking from Helsinki, Finland, during a meeting with the leaders of Nordic states and Zelensky’s adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, went so far as to suggest that “domestic opponents” of the Russian President could be responsible for the attack.
The developments come as speculation has gone wild about Ukraine’s planned “spring offensive”, as well as in the wake of a series of high-profile sabotage and terrorist attacks in Crimea foiled by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
Western media speculation that "the Kremlin itself was responsible" for the incident involving the UAVs can, in fact, be likened to claims surrounding the Nord Stream sabotage.
The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, were hit by explosions last September. Nord Stream's operator, Nord Stream AG, said that the damage was unprecedented and it was impossible to estimate how long it would take to repair. Russia considers the explosions at the two pipelines an act of international terrorism. Although there are no official results of the investigation yet, US journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh alleged that the explosions were organized by the United States with the support of Norway. After Hersh's report, Moscow reiterated its calls for an impartial and thorough investigation. The US has denied its involvement in the incident, with Washington and its NATO allies initially even trying to implicate Russia in the bombing attack that severed three out of four undersea pipelines on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 route from Russia to Germany.
Western media outlets "unreasonably prefer to blame Russia for everything. We would prefer that they pay more attention to the topic of the terrorist attacks on Nord Stream and the need for a transparent, urgent, and broad international investigation of these unprecedented terrorist acts of sabotage," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters back in April.