A senior Russian air defense commander has claimed that President Vladimir Putin's helicopter was at the "epicenter" of a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack during an unannounced visit to the Kursk region on May 20, in what officials described as an "unprecedented" security threat to the Russian leader. The Kremlin confirmed Putin's visit but has not publicly addressed the reported airborne assault.
Yury Dashkin, commander of Russia's air defense division, told the state-run Rossiya-24 TV channel that Russian forces were engaged in simultaneous operations to repel dozens of drones while securing airspace for the president's aircraft. "We were simultaneously engaged in an air defense battle and ensuring airspace security for the president's helicopter flight," Dashkin said. "The helicopter was effectively at the epicenter of the response to the massive drone attack."
According to Dashkin, all Ukrainian drones were destroyed, and no harm came to the president or his entourage. The Russian defense ministry has not released additional details, and Dashkin did not provide independent evidence to support the claim.
Putin's surprise visit to Kursk marked his first to the border region since Moscow announced in March that it had regained control over the area, which had been contested in Ukrainian cross-border incursions. During the trip, Putin met with local officials, volunteers, and the region's acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein, according to the Kremlin's newswire, Tass.
Putin rarely travels to conflict-adjacent regions and has generally maintained physical distance from frontline locations throughout the war. The timing of the visit and Dashkin's statement prompted speculation from Ukrainian analysts who told The Kyiv Independent that the claim may be intended to bolster Putin's image as personally exposed to wartime risk and actively engaged in defense efforts.
Ukraine has not commented on the allegation but maintains that its operations in the Kursk region are ongoing. "Although the conditions remain difficult, Ukrainian defenders hold their positions, fulfill their tasks and inflict effective damage on the enemy," Ukraine's General Staff said in a May 21 statement.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian forces were reported to have breached the Russian border near the village of Tetkino. Drone strikes across the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions have intensified, underscoring Kyiv's ability to project force into Russian territory even as Moscow escalates its own missile and drone barrages.
President Donald Trump, in a recent post on Truth Social, said of Putin: "Something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!" Trump continued, "Missiles and drones are being shot into cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever... If he does want all of Ukraine, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!"
Trump previously warned that Putin's pursuit of full territorial control of Ukraine would destabilize Russia and pledged to halt the war swiftly if re-elected. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has maintained that Kyiv reserves the right to target Putin if it would protect the Ukrainian people. "That's war, and Ukraine has all the rights to defend our land," Zelensky told The Sun in November 2023.
