Vladimir Putin ‘assassination attempt’: Ukraine denies any involvement

Footage posted on Russian social media channels purported to show a small explosion above the Kremlin, which is Putin’s official residence in Moscow.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said the attack means Russia has to “eliminate” Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

But Mr Zelensky has denied the claims and stated Kyiv’s forces are concentred on “defending our villages and cities”.

A statement from the Russian government, as reported by state media, said: “Last night, the Kyiv regime attempted to carry out a strike on the Kremlin residence of the President of the Russian Federation with unmanned aerial vehicles.

“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.

“The Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it sees fit.”

Putin was not hurt, and was not even present at the time, as he was working at his Novo Ogaryovo compound outside the city. The Kremlin was not damaged.

The alleged attack came on the same day Russian missiles killed 17 Ukrainians in the southern city of Kherson.

“At the beginning of the war, (Russia) made several attempts to assassinate Volodymyr Zelensky,” said Iuliia Mendel, a former press secretary for the Ukrainian President.

“How much trust do we have in Russian information about alleged Ukrainian drone attacks on the Kremlin? After years of lies and provocation?”

‘Eliminate’ Zelensky

Firebrand former Russian president Dimity Medvedev has said that alleged attack gives Russia a reason to assassinate the Ukrainian president. He once more alluded to Ukraine being a Nazi run state.

“After today’s terrorist attack, there are no options left other than the physical elimination of Zelensky and his clique,” he wrote on social media site Telegram.

“He is not even needed to sign the act of unconditional capitulation. Hitler, as you know, did not sign it either.”

Medvedev is the deputy head of Russia’s security council. He has spent much of the conflict stating wild and incendiary statements and lambasting Ukraine and its government.

Ukraine denies it was behind drones

President Zelensky said Kyiv was not responsible for the drones above the Kremlin.

“We don’t attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on our territory. We are defending our villages and cities,” he said during a visit to Finland.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior Adviser for Mr Zelensky’s office, said Russia’s claims of an assassination attempt were “predictable”.

“First of all, Ukraine wages an exclusively defensive war and does not attack targets on the territory of the Russian Federation,” said Mr Podolyak.

“What for? This does not solve any military issue. But it gives the Russian Federation grounds to justify its attacks on civilians.

“Secondly, we are watching with interest the growing number of mishaps and incidents that are taking place in different parts of Russia. The emergence of unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles at energy facilities or on the Kremlin’s territory can only indicate the guerrilla activities of local resistance forces.

“The loss of control over the country by Putin’s regime is obvious.”

The United States has said it is unable to verify Russia’s claim.

“We simply don’t know,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said when asked about the validity of the allegation.

“Take anything coming from the Kremlin with a large shaker of salt.”

Defence experts have also cast doubt on the Kremlin’s claim, questioning how the drones could have so thoroughly penetrated Russia’s much-hyped air defences, and whether the ones captured in the images were even capable of flying that far.

“I have some serious question marks. Is it really realistic, if the drone was from far away, that no air defence could have intervened until right above the Kremlin itself?” tweeted Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

“This kind of quadrocopter could only have been launched from within Moscow or its vicinity. Not the kind of drone that can fly all the way from Ukraine,” said Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign affairs correspondent.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would still take part in the Victory Day parade in Red Square next week, as previously planned.

Meanwhile, Moscow’s mayor announced a ban on drone flights over the city, unless a special permit is obtained from “government authorities”.

The news came as Ukraine prepared for a fresh offensive against Russian troops.

In possible signs that preparations are being stepped up, the frontline city of Kherson in southern Ukraine announced a long curfew for residents and sabotage acts behind Russian lines intensified.

Kherson, which was retaken by Ukrainian troops in November, will be under curfew from Friday evening until Monday morning.

Regional officials said this was “for law enforcement officers to do their job”, but similar long curfews have also been used in the past for troop and arms movements.

“During these 58 hours, it is forbidden to move on the streets of the city. The city will also be closed for entry and exit,” the head of Kherson’s regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram.

He advised residents to stock up on food and medicine and said people could go for short walks near their houses or visit shops but should carry identity documents with them at all times.

The curfew announcement came as officials said 17 people were killed in a Russian strike on Kherson’s only working hypermarket on Wednesday.

Kherson was captured by Russian troops last year in the first days of the invasion and remained under Russian occupation until November 2022.

After a sustained campaign of sabotage attacks behind Russian lines, Russian forces withdrew from the city.

They crossed to the eastern side of the Dnipro River which now delineates part of the front line in southern Ukraine.

The curfew announcement came as officials in Russia said they were dealing with a major fire at a fuel depot close to the bridge to Russian-annexed Crimea — the second such incident in just a few days.

A source in the emergency services was quoted by TASS news agency as saying that the fire had been caused by a drone.

An explosion also caused a freight train to derail in a southern Russian region bordering Ukraine on Tuesday, also the second such incident in just two days.

Ukraine says it has been preparing for months for a counteroffensive aimed at repelling Russian forces from the territory they currently hold in the east and south.

Meanwhile in Finland, NATO’s newest member, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was on a surprise visit to take part in a summit with the leaders of the five Nordic nations which have been key providers of military aid.

“In order to be in NATO and support alliances to gain support, fundamental diplomatic work must be done. Ukraine is doing it today,” Daria Zarivna, Ukraine’s presidential communications Adviser, wrote on Telegram.

– with AFP