A US think tank said that Russia "likely" staged an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin as a false flag operation, with other observers noting how politically advantageous the incident would be for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia claimed that two drones — one of which was caught on camera exploding— were sent over the Kremlin as a "planned terrorist act and an attempt on the president's life" early Wednesday. It accused Ukraine of the attack.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly denied any involvement.
The Kremlin was largely unharmed in the incident, and Putin was not in the building at the time.
As military experts told Insider, many details of the incident — and ultimate responsibility for it — remain unconfirmed as of Thursday.
But US think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which produces a detailed daily situation update on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has said that "several indicators suggest that the strike was internally conducted and purposefully staged" by Russia.
Russia has bolstered its multi-layered air defenses around Moscow, making it "extremely unlikely" that two drones could get close enough to explode "just over the heart of the Kremlin in a way that provided spectacular...
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