Russia says US behind attack

Washington blamed for orchestrating act on Kremlin; more airstrikes reported

Russia said on Thursday that the United States was behind what it says was a drone attack on the Kremlin that aimed to kill President Vladimir Putin, while forces of Moscow and Kyiv both reported more airstrikes from the opposite side.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine had acted on US orders with the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin citadel in the early hours of Wednesday.

"Attempts to disown this (attack on the Kremlin), both in Kyiv and in Washington, are, of course, absolutely ridiculous. We know very well that decisions about such actions, about such terrorist attacks, are made not in Kyiv but in Washington," Peskov told reporters. "Kyiv only does what it is told to do."

"Washington should understand clearly that we know this," he said.

The Kremlin has said it reserves the right to retaliate. Peskov said on Thursday an urgent investigation was underway and that any response would be carefully considered and balanced.

Ukraine had denied Russian claims about its involvement in drone attacks on the Kremlin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an unannounced visit to Finland's capital Helsinki for talks with the leaders of five Nordic countries, denied any role.

"We don't attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on our territory. We're defending our villages and cities," he said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Ukraine presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the claims could provide a pretext for Russia "to justify massive strikes on Ukrainian cities, on the civilian population, on infrastructure facilities".

United States officials said they were still assessing the incident, and had no information about who might have been responsible.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington is leaving it to Kyiv's discretion on how to defend its own territory in the conflict.

United Nations deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the United Nations "is not in a position to confirm these reports. We strongly reiterate our call on all concerned to refrain from any rhetoric or action that could further escalate the conflict".

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Thursday that China's stance on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear, urging various parties to refrain from taking actions that might further escalate the situation. China will work with the international community to play a constructive role in pushing for a political solution to the crisis, Mao said.

Fresh offensives

A day after the Kremlin attack, Kyiv and Moscow reported more drone attacks on Thursday, including two that sparked fires in Russian oil refineries.

A drone attack set ablaze product storage facilities at one of the largest oil refineries in southern Russia, but emergency services extinguished the fire just over two hours later, and the plant was working normally, TASS news agency reported.

Ukraine's air force also reported drone attacks. It said Russia fired up to 24 attack drones against Ukraine overnight, 18 of which were shot down.

On Wednesday, the White House announced it would send a new $300 million military aid package to Ukraine as it prepares for an expected spring counteroffensive against Russia's forces.

The Pentagon said it will include "additional ammunition for US-provided HIMARS, additional howitzers, artillery and mortar rounds, and anti-armor capabilities".

While US officials have publicly stated the US will continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary, they have refused to share any details about Ukrainian battle plans, for operational security reasons.

The US has now committed more than $35.7 billion in security assistance since the beginning of Russia's special military operation last February.

This has included more than 1.6 million artillery rounds, tens of thousands of anti-tank weapons, secure communications equipment, radar systems and more.

The new aid will come from existing US military stockpiles, which means it can be sent to the battlefield relatively quickly.

Agencies and Zhou Jin in Beijing contributed to this story.