After announcing the downing of two marches over the Kremlin and accusing Ukraine of attempting to assassinate Putin. How does Russia respond?

MOSCOW – Several connotations and messages in more than one direction, carried by the attempt to target the Russian presidential palace (Kremlin) in the center of the capital, Moscow, with two drones, and many questions in terms of timing and target, and whether Russia will respond and in what way, especially if it is proven that Ukraine is involved in standing behind the attempt to target the building, which constitutes the symbol of the state and its headquarters for centuries.

At around 3 a.m. on Wednesday (Moscow time), two drones tried to target the Russian presidential residence before they were shot down at the last minute, when one of them was about to touch the Russian flagpole on the Kremlin dome, causing shrapnel to scatter on the presidential palace square, without causing casualties or material damage.

The Kremlin's press service was quick to accuse Ukraine of being behind the incident, calling it "a planned terrorist act and an attempt to assassinate the Russian president," stressing that Russia reserves the right to take retaliatory measures at the right place and time.

Tantrum

Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin called what he called a "terrorist act against the president" as an attack on all of Russia, calling for "the designation of the Nazi regime of Kiev as a terrorist organization, and allowing the use of weapons that can deter and destroy it."

In the initial measures, the authorities imposed a ban on the use of all types of drones in the capital, Moscow, and in more than 40 cities, with the exception of drones necessary for the needs of the state.

For months, talk has been accelerating about the possibility of Ukraine launching attacks on various targets inside Russia using drones. In February, news that Ukrainian drones could reach areas close to Moscow became semi-standard, but no one spoke about their possibility of reaching the presidential residence.

That same month, an unidentified drone crashed near a Gazprom facility in a Moscow suburb. At the end of March, a person found fragments of a drone near the railway tracks in New Moscow, with the words "Glory to Ukraine" written on its wings.

Last year, the Washington Post reported on the existence of threats of strikes against Moscow, and the newspaper explained - citing another batch of leaked US documents - that the head of the main intelligence service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Kirill Budanov planned to strike areas inside Russia on February 24 of this year, but at Washington's request the attacks were postponed.

Celebration Tangis

The incident comes at a time that may carry connotations associated with the most important historical events in Russian history, as it preceded a few days of the celebration of the Victory Day over Germany during World War II, which is celebrated on the ninth of May every year in the Red Square right adjacent to the Kremlin wall, which has become an additional symbolism, moral, political and military, since the start of the war with Ukraine.

According to Russian affairs expert Roland Begamov, the attempt to target the Kremlin, with its symbolic significance, was primarily to negatively affect the morale of Russian public opinion and to give messages to Moscow that the counter-offensive of Ukrainian forces is imminent.

Begamov saw – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that Kiev is working to try to impose rules of engagement with Moscow, by using escalation as a means to influence the course of Russian military plans in Ukraine, which affects the balance of these plans, and ensures luring Moscow to take decisions "nervous and emotional steps," pointing out that the incident has undoubtedly become an occasion to strengthen air defenses and security measures throughout the country.

Reply

Meanwhile, an active debate has begun in the Russian media and blogosphere about a possible response to such an attack.

According to the director of the Center for Political Forecasting Denis Kirkudinov, one of the most common options is to launch a similar strike on decision-making centers in Kiev, such as the office of (Ukrainian President Volodymir) Zelensky, the seat of government, foreign affairs and defense.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Karkudinov explained that "Russia now has all the necessary legal foundations to respond to the terrorist attack, and there is no need for additional decisions at the legislative level."

After the attack on the Kremlin, Putin has the right to "cancel all security guarantees" for the Ukrainian president that he had previously given during a conversation with then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and that Moscow has, in any case, ample options for retaliation.

At the same time, the Russian expert does not rule out the possibility that the launch of the march came by a sabotage and reconnaissance group directly from inside Russian territory, because this - in his opinion - will significantly increase its chances of reaching the center of the capital.