NYT: The US believes that Ukrainian units are behind the attacks on the Kremlin. But Zelensky could not know about it

American officials believe that special military or intelligence units of Ukraine are behind the drone strikes on the Kremlin in early May. However, the President Volodymyr Zelensky could not know about it.

The New York Times (NYT) writes about it.

The US special services came to this conclusion based on the intercepted messages of Ukrainian and Russian officials. However, it is currently unknown whether Zelensky knew about this operation and whether he gave permission for it.

In the US, they believe that the Ukrainian authorities were unlikely to directly authorize the strikes on the Kremlin. They say that many Ukrainian agents work autonomously and without direct control from the president. In the US, it is assumed that Zelensky and his advisers have established the general parameters of the campaign, but the decisions about what, when and whom to attack are made by the units themselves.

American officials also believe that two drones were launched at the Kremlin from a short distance, from or near Moscow. They had a limited charge of explosives, so the purpose of this attack was most likely to have a psychological effect.

• On May 3, Russia informed that Ukraine allegedly tried to strike the Kremlin with drones at night. They called it a "terrorist act" and said they reserved the right to take retaliatory measures "where and when they see fit." A ban on drones was announced in Moscow.
• President Zelenskyʼs spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov denied Ukraineʼs involvement in the attacks on the Kremlin, calling it "inflammation of the situation before May 9."
• The adviser to the head of the Presidentʼs Office Mykhailo Podolyak emphasized that Ukrainian troops are waging a defensive war and do not attack objects in Russia, because this "does not solve any military problem." However, such incidents, according to him, give the Russian Federation grounds to justify its attacks on civilians.