Putin's Enemies Inside Russia Behind Drone Attack—Zelensky Ally

Russian President Vladimir Putin's enemies inside Russia might have carried out the drone attack on the Kremlin on Wednesday, according to an ally of the Ukrainian president.

David Arakhamia, the parliamentary leader of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's party, offered the theory in a statement on his Telegram channel late on Wednesday, citing "insiders."

It remains unclear who launched the two drones that struck the Kremlin in Moscow in the early hours of Wednesday morning, but the Russian government has accused Kyiv of launching a "terrorist attack" on the Kremlin and making an attempt on Putin's life. Some have assessed the attack was likely staged by the Kremlin to justify a future effort to mobilize troops for the war, while others believe such an act would be too humiliating for Putin.

"There are many versions about drones over the Kremlin," Arakhamia wrote. "I will express my personal opinion based on a series of insiders."

Arakhamia suggested the attack could have been carried out by Russian oligarchs disgruntled by sanctions that were imposed on them in response to Russia's decision in February 2022 to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"The attack on the Kremlin was carried out on the collective order of Russian oligarchs who fell under sanctions because of the Putin regime. This is the first collective game of the 'offended club.' I hope not the last," he said.

According to the Bloomberg billionaires index, the wealthiest Russian oligarchs lost almost $95 billion in 2022 amid sanctions imposed by Western nations over Putin's war in Ukraine, the British newspaper The Guardian reported.

Arakhamia didn't provide evidence for his assessment.

Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat who quit over Putin's war in Ukraine, told Newsweek he's skeptical of Arakhamia's theory, calling it a "strange idea."

Newsweek reached out to Russia's foreign ministry for comment.

The press service of the Russian government said on Wednesday that two Ukrainian drones had crashed into the Kremlin after being taken down by electronic-warfare systems. Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the Russian president was not in the Kremlin at the time.

Ukraine has denied any involvement in the alleged drone attack.

Zelensky told a press conference on Wednesday that his forces were busy "defending our villages and cities" and said "we do not have enough weapons even for this."

"We don't attack Putin or Moscow," Zelensky said. "We fight on our territory."

His press secretary, Serhiy Nikiforov, told reporters that Ukraine does not attack foreign territories.

"We have no information about the so-called night attacks on the Kremlin," Nikiforov said. "President Zelensky has repeatedly stated: Ukraine directs all available forces and means to liberate its own territories and not to attack others."

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