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The tight ring of security that surrounds the seat of the Russian presidency was punctured in dramatic fashion by what appeared to be two attempted drone strikes in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
But until the Kremlin chose to publicize the incident around 12 hours later, social media footage of the incident had gained little attention.
Why Russia decided to reveal the security breach is unclear. But in a five-paragraph statement on Wednesday, the Kremlin made the incendiary claim that the drones were an assassination attempt launched by Ukraine on the the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Kyiv forcefully denied the claim.
Kyiv was bombarded with missiles in the hours following Russia’s claims, in keeping with Putin’s historic willingness to strike Ukrainian cities after any alleged act of provocation.
Many details about the incident remain murky. Here’s what we know – and the questions that remain.
What happened?
Moscow said the alleged attack took place in the early hours of Wednesday. Two “unmanned aerial vehicles” were intercepted and destroyed before they caused any damage or injury, the Kremlin said.
The Russian president was not in the building at the time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Videos then emerged on social media appearing to show the incident. CNN analysis of these videos supports Moscow’s claim that two drones were flown above the Kremlin.
A video that appeared to show smoke rising from the Kremlin surfaced on a Telegram channel at 2:37 a.m. local time Wednesday. The first reports of the incident citing the Kremlin came via Russian state media TASS and RIA around 2:33 p.m. local time – around 12 hours later.
Shortly after the first media reports, another video appearing to show the moment a drone exploded above the Kremlin began circulating widely on social media. In the video, the apparent drone seems to fly towards the building’s domed roof, followed by what looks like a small explosion.
