Russian government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was “just lying” when he accused the U.S. of contributing to drone strikes against the Kremlin, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“I can assure you that there was no involvement by the United States. Whatever it was, it didn’t involve us,” Kirby said. “We had nothing to do with it. Peskov is just lying there, pure and simple.”
The Biden administration doesn’t “really know what happened,” Kirby added.
The Russian government accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin after saying Russia downed two drones over the Kremlin on Wednesday. Video appeared to show smoke emanating from the Kremlin. Putin was reportedly not in the building at the time.
💥Повідомляють, що у Кремлі цієї ночі було 2 хлопка pic.twitter.com/bd4xCjeLGL
— Serhii Sternenko ✙ (@sternenko) May 3, 2023
Peskov accused the U.S. playing an integral part in the attempted drone strikes.
“We are well aware that decisions on such a level of terrorist attacks are made not in Kyiv, but in Washington,” Peskov told reporters, according to NBC. “Kyiv only does what it is told to do.”
The Kremlin also issued a statement saying, “Russia reserves the right to take retaliatory measures whenever and wherever it sees fit.” Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for the killing of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (RELATED: REPORT: Russia’s Security Chair Says Russia Has ‘No Options Left’ Other Than ‘Physical Elimination Of Zelensky’)
The U.S. and Ukraine have both denied having any role in carrying out the attempted strikes.