The Kremlin has accused the US of masterminding the drone attack on President Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin residence, which it claims was carried out by Ukraine.

“Decisions on such attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Kyiv only does what it is told to do.”

According to RTE, Mr. Peskov said that the Kremlin is stepping up security in Moscow ahead of World War II Victory Day celebrations in the city next week. “Everything will be strengthened,” he said. “Everything has already been strengthened in preparation for the Victory Day parade.”

John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, told MSNBC: “We had nothing to do with this.” “Peskov is just lying there, pure and simple,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had nothing to do with the reported Kremlin incident. “We don’t attack Putin, or Moscow, we fight on our territory,” Mr Zelensky told a press conference during a visit to Finland yesterday.

A senior aide to the president called the accusation a sign that Russia was planning a major new attack on Ukraine. Shortly after Moscow’s announcement, Ukraine reported alerts for air strikes over the capital Kyiv and other cities.

Russia said that two unmanned aerial vehicles were aimed at the Kremlin. Mr Peskov added that he was aware that Pope Francis was thinking about ways to end the conflict in Ukraine, but that it was not aware of any detailed peace plans from the Vatican.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Pope Francis has offered to act as a broker between Moscow and Kyiv and called for peace on practically a weekly basis.