Wed 03 May 2023:
Russia alleged Wednesday that Ukraine attempted to assassinate President Vladimir Putin in an overnight drone strike on the Kremlin, draw denials from Kiev and heated retribution demands from nationalists in Moscow.
Russia accuses Ukraine of attempt to kill Putin with drones
Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting an overnight drone attack on the Kremlin with the aim of killing President Putin, most dramatic charge Moscow has levelled against Kyiv since its war on its neighbour began. pic.twitter.com/IwHddbx732
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) May 3, 2023
The Kremlin’s accusation, made without providing evidence, was the latest in a string of reported incidents far from the war’s front lines. Kyiv said it had nothing to do with the alleged incident and suggested it could be used as a pretext for a new Russian attack inside Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, denied his country was behind the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the accusations, saying his country had not attacked Moscow or its president.
“We don’t attack Putin, or Moscow; we fight on our territory,” Zelenskyy told a news conference in Helsinki. pic.twitter.com/KrEBrrxZKl
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) May 3, 2023
“We are not attacking Putin or Moscow,” he told a news conference in the Finnish capital Helsinki, where he was meeting the prime ministers of four Nordic nations.
“We are fighting on our own territory, defending our villages and cities,” he said. “We do not have enough weapons even for this. That is why we do not use them elsewhere. We have a deficit. We cannot use everything and everywhere.”
Putin was not in the building at the time and there was no material damage to the Kremlin, Russian officials said, as they warned of their right to retaliate.
“The Kremlin has assessed these actions as a planned terrorist act and an assassination attempt on the president on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 Parade,” state news outlet RIA reported, adding Putin had not changed his schedule and was working at his Novo Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the accusations, saying his country had not attacked Moscow or its president.
“We don’t attack Putin, or Moscow; we fight on our territory,” Zelenskyy told a news conference in Helsinki.
The United States had no advance notice if there was a drone attack against the Kremlin by Ukraine, three U.S. officials told NBC News. Two of the officials expressed skepticism that a drone could get that close to the Kremlin given the fact that Russia has so many air defense systems protecting it.
Russian military and special services had disabled two attacking drones, sending debris crashing onto the grounds of the seat of government, the Kremlin said in a statement on its website.
It blamed the alleged attack on Ukraine but said that no one was hurt.
“We view these actions as a planned terrorist attack and an assassination attempt targeting the President, carried out ahead of Victory Day,” the statement said, referring to the May 9 celebration of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
“Russia reserves the right to take countermeasures wherever and whenever it deems appropriate,” it added.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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