What method was allegedly used to try to assassinate Putin?

Russia has announced that it has halted what it calls an attempt to assassinate Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. A statement released by the Kremlin calls the alleged event “a planned terrorist act and an assassination attempt on the president”, after as yet unverified social media footage appeared to show what looks like a small explosion over the top of the Russian complex.

The statement said that Russia “reserves the right to take retaliatory measures wherever and whenever is deemed necessary”. Russia said the two drones targeting the Kremlin were disabled using electronic radar assets and that at the time, Putin was not present in the Kremlin, instead being located in Novo Ogaryovo, outside Moscow.

What method do Russia claim that Ukraine used for the alleged assassination attempt?

The Russian statement cleared up the doubts regarding the method of the alleged assassination attempt, saying that “last night, the Kyiv regime attempted to carry out a strike on the Kremlin residence of the President of the Russian Federation with unmanned aerial vehicles.” UAVs, also known as drones, are aerial attack vehicles that do not require human pilots and are controlled remotely. “As a result of timely actions taken by the military and special services with the use of radar warfare systems” the statement continued, “the vehicles were disabled”.

Kyiv said it had nothing to do with the alleged incident, with Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, denied Ukrainian involvement, suggesting instead that “guerrilla activities of local resistance forces” could be to blame. He added that the news was a sign that Russia is preparing “a large-scale terrorist attack” of its own.

Russia prepares for the victory parade next week

Next Wednesday, May 9, is the Victory Day parade, where Putin will be in the red square. As a result, this news comes at a time of high security for the Russian president, with Russia saying the attempt was in preparation to target the president while he is vulnerable next week.

The Kremlin also announced that it is business as usual for Putin, whose schedule has not changed and he held a meeting with Gleb Nikitin, governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, outside Moscow. No victims or damage were reported after the alleged incident. Kyiv and some central and eastern Ukrainian regions have recently announced air alerts as a result of the situation.