Russia is not giving up. According to Moscow, dozens of Ukrainian drones attacked a residence of Vladimir Putin this week. Info or misinformation? What we know at this stage is that Russia had not provided any proof of this alleged attack until this morning. And that of all the residents of the region in question interviewed by the press, none witnessed drone activity at that time.
A lack of evidence which did not prevent several of Moscow’s allies from immediately reiterating their full support. Starting with the Kazakh and Uzbek presidents, or even the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers, “deeply concerned” by this “serious threat to peace, security and stability”.
48 hours without any proof
Vladimir Putin also rushed to telephone Donald Trump, informing him of the alleged attack and indicating that Russia was reviewing its position on the negotiations as a result. The American president indicated that he had taken Vladimir Putin at his word… before admitting that the attack had perhaps not taken place. But by sowing doubt, the Russian president still helps to mollify his American counterpart, who even declared: “Thank God, we did not provide Tomahawk missiles to Zelensky!”, according to the Kremlin’s diplomatic advisor.
Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, the Ukrainian president, for his part, reported on his exchanges with the Americans. “They looked at the details and we understand that this is false information. And, of course, our partners can always use their technological tools to verify that it was indeed false information,” argued Volodymyr Zelensky. “Russia has not provided any proof of this attack. And they will not have any. Because there is none. No such attack took place,” added its Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
In the same vein, a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said that “there is no solid evidence to corroborate the serious accusations made by the Russian authorities, even after cross-checking the information with our partners.” On Wednesday on
To respond to accusations of unfounded allegations, Moscow today published a video on Telegram, showing a device believed to have been shot down during the attack, as well as a soldier with his face covered standing near the debris of a drone. The Russian army also released a map showing the trajectory of the devices launched during this alleged attack, as well as the testimony of a man presented as an inhabitant of a village close to the residence of the Russian president. Elements which have not yet been able to be authenticated.
Harden the Russian position
Is this then a real attack, as Russia assures, or a pretext to legitimize future Russian strikes against Ukraine? The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) clearly leans toward the second hypothesis. “The circumstances of this alleged strike do not match the pattern of evidence observed when Ukrainian forces carry out strikes in Russia,” he told CNN, noting the absence of statements from local and regional Russian authorities.
Independent Russian media outlet Agentstvo even noted on Tuesday that the head of the Valdai district held a live televised address on Monday at 5 p.m. local time, during which he did not mention any attacks. Agentstvo said it also could not find reports of drone attacks on public social media in the town of Valdai, which has a population of 14,000 and is 20 kilometers from the residence.
Not to mention the lack of consistency between official Russian declarations, which diverge both on the number of vectors and the regions targeted. Monday, from 7:45 a.m., the Ministry of Defense spoke of a drone attack on the Novgorod region, then on that of Bryansk, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking two hours later, for his part mentioned the presidential residence of Valdaï as the only target.
According to military expert Yuri Fyodorov, cited by The World“Determined to prevent Trump from adopting sanctions against Russia, Putin must present him with a plausible explanation so as not to risk entering into conflict with him. Hence this provocation.” The Russian press makes no secret of it: “Moscow now has its hands free”, headlined the tabloid on Tuesday Komsomolskaya Pravda.
