Newsman: The United States has dismissed as “ludicrous” Russia’s claim that it was responsible for a drone attack against the Kremlin, an incident that risks inflaming international tensions. Russia had said on Wednesday that it shot down two drones aimed at the Kremlin before they reached Putin’s official residence.
White House National Security spokesman John Kirby denied on Thursday any US involvement in the attack on Wednesday, which Moscow said targeted President Vladimir Putin. Kirby stressed that Washington is not even aware of the details of what happened.
“Obviously it’s a ludicrous claim. The United States had nothing to do with this,” Kirby told CNN. “We don’t even know exactly what happened here, but I can assure you the United States had no role in it whatsoever.”
“I would take anything out of the Kremlin with a very large shaker of salt,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday after reports of the attack.
Asked whether the US, the top source of military assistance to Ukraine, would back Ukrainian attacks inside Russia, Blinken stressed that Washington does not dictate to Kyiv how to conduct its war efforts.
“We leave it to Ukraine to decide how it’s going to defend itself, and how it’s going to try to get back the territory that’s been seized from it,” he said.Play
Earlier on Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the US, a key ally of Ukraine, was “undoubtedly” behind the attack.
In a separate interview with MSNBC on Thursday, Kirby said Peskov was lying, “pure and simple”.
