Kyiv denies Kremlin’s accusations of involvement in attacks on Russia’s military bases in Syria
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense denied accusations of involvement in the attack on Russian military bases in Syria, calling them an “information attack,” Ukrinform reports.
“This is another information attack [by Russia]. We reject these accusations, and of course, this information attack is done, first of all, to cover up what the Russian Federation is now doing in the Crimea as well as in Donetsk and Luhansk, where arms from Russia are supplied,” said the press secretary of the Minister of Defense Victoria Kushnir.
Earlier, the Russian chief of the department for the construction and development of UAVs, General Staff Major General Alexander Novikov, said that the substance used in the explosives in the unmanned vehicles that attacked the Russian bases in Syria is a substance produced in different places, including Ukraine.
“Preliminary studies have shown that the TEN used as the basis of the explosive in the ammunition was more powerful than hexogen. This explosive is produced by a number of countries, including Ukraine, at the Shostka Chemical Reagents Plant,” said Novikov.
Earlier, the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces, General Kenneth McKenzie, also denied U.S. involvement in the attack. “I can tell you that the United States has never been involved in drone attacks on Russian military installations in Syria,” he said.
The drone attacks on Russian bases occurred on January 6. According to the Ministry of Defense, 13 drones were involved in the attacks. Ten of them were sent to the Khmeimim Airbase, and three to the Russian Naval facility in Tartus. Seven drones were destroyed by the Pantsir-S missile system, and the rest were brought under control by Russian electronic warfare units. The Russian military department specified that the drones were launched from the province of Idlib, from the zone controlled by the troops of the moderate Syrian opposition.