The Ukrainian Secret Service attempted to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin with a drone, but the attack failed when the drone crashed before reaching him, German newspaper Bild reported on Thursday.
The report cites a recent tweet by the Chief Editor of the Ukrainian website Khvilya, Yuriy Romanenko, who reportedly has ties to Ukrainian intelligence sources.
According to Romanenko, Ukraine used a drone of the UJ-22 type, which has a range of up to 800 km and was equipped with 17 kg of explosives. The drone managed to fly over the border and pass by Russia's air defense systems.
Putin's visit outside the capital
The drone was meant to explode and kill Putin during a visit to the Rudnevo industrial park near the capital of Moscow.
"Last week, our intelligence officers received information about Putin's trip to the industrial park in Rudnevo. I even managed to get a map of the trip around the park. This information was indirectly confirmed by Putin's personal correspondent Zarubin in his telegram," Romanenko wrote. "Accordingly, we launched a kamikaze drone, which flew through all the air defenses of the Russian Federation, and fell not far from the industrial park."
Путин, мы все ближеВсе видели новость о дроне который долетел до Москвы, но не взорвался? Так-вот, дрон этот летел не просто так. На прошлой неделе наши разведчики получили информацию о поездке путина в индустриальный парк в Руднево. Удалось даже заполучить карту поездки по… pic.twitter.com/F2u8kClhPO
— Yuriy Romanenko (@shan_yan) April 24, 2023
According to Bild, private Russian media confirmed a drone crash in a village east of Moscow, close to the Rudnevo industrial park.
Alleged pictures of the drone show explosive charges of the M112 type, which is also used by the US and Canadian military.
There was no comment from the Russian side, but passersby uploaded videos to Twitter on Sunday, which might show possible preparations for a visit by Putin.
The lawn was painted green in preparation for the arrival of #Putin in Moscow's Rudnyovo industrial park.#RussiaIsCollapsing#RussiaIsATerroristState pic.twitter.com/NrlmPVo9dE
— Sonja Eftimovska (@sonjaeftimovska) April 23, 2023
Ukraine in the past repeatedly attempted to strike targets in Russian territory, frequently using drones.
In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin will eventually be killed by a member of his inner circle.