In so many words Putin has said the failed drone swarm attack on Russia's Syria airbase was the handiwork of the US. Speaking at a meeting with editors of Russian papers he said:

"Those were provocations aimed at disrupting the earlier agreements, in the first place. Secondly, it was about our relations with our partners – Turkey and Iran. It was also an attempt to destroy those relations. We have a perfect understanding of that and will act in solidarity."

"There were provocateurs there, but they were not Turks. We know who they are. We know whom and how much they paid for these provocations." 

"We know when and where those unmanned aerial vehicles were handed over and how many there were." 

"Those aircraft were only camouflaged – I want to emphasize this – to look like handicraft production. In fact, it is quite obvious that there were elements of high-tech nature there."