Two drones flew above Kremlin, but there is no evidence of Ukraine's involvement – CNN

CNN analysed videos of the drone attack on the Kremlin and confirmed the allegations made by the Russian authorities that two drones were flying overhead, but not that Ukraine was involved.

Source: CNN; Faridaily Telegram channel

Details: CNN has reported what is currently known about how events unfolded.

The video, which appeared to show smoke billowing from the Kremlin and was geolocated by CNN, appeared on one of the local Telegram channels at 02:37 Moscow time on Wednesday.

The first reports of the incident citing the Kremlin came via the Russian state-owned media outlets TASS and RIA around 14:33 Moscow time, about 12 hours later.

Shortly after the first media reports, another video apparently showing the moment a drone exploded above the Kremlin began circulating widely on social media. In the video, the drone is flying towards the building’s domed roof, followed by what appears to be a small explosion.

The video shows two people climbing on the dome holding flashlights and ducking down just before the moment of the explosion. The people climbing the dome are not present in the first of these videos but appear in the second, suggesting they were responding to the fire caused by the first drone at the time the second drone appeared.

CNN has analysed videos shared by the Russian state-run channel TVC that appear to show  that two separate drones were launched from different directions within minutes of each other, based on the times displayed on the nearby Spasskaya tower clock.

The first drone was spotted over the Kremlin at 02:27 Moscow time. It exploded over the Senate Palace, after which a fire broke out on its roof. The second drone was spotted at 02:43, and its fragments fell on the territory of the Kremlin.

While the first drone caused a fire at the top of the dome, the second did not, but instead exploded in the air.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not mention the incident on Wednesday when briefing reporters at around 12:30 Moscow time, about two hours before media reports emerged.

CNN indicates that the Kremlin has not yet provided material evidence that would confirm the statement by the Russian authorities that on Wednesday it prevented an attempt by Ukraine on the life of President Vladimir Putin.

Independent Russian journalist Farida Rustamova writes that Putin's offices and his Kremlin apartment are located in the Senate Palace of the Kremlin, the dome of which caught fire due to a drone attack.

Quote: "The Senate Palace is usually just referred to as the first building in Kremlin slang. This building houses most of the working premises used by Putin and his administration...

Remember the historic Security Council meeting before the war? It took place under the Dome, in Catherine Hall at the Senate Palace.

And the Kremlin apartment of the president is located in the Senate Palace... Apparently, therefore, what happened is considered, in the Kremlin’s message, an attempt on Putin."

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