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Updated May 4th, 2023 at 11:23 IST

Ukraine denies attempt to assassinate Putin, says 'Russia planning large terrorist attack'

While President Putin was uninjured, Kremlin labelled drone strikes at President Vladimir Putin’s residence overnight as a "planned terrorist attack."

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Ukraine
IMAGE: Republic/AP | Image:self
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Ukraine on Wednesday, May 3 issued its first response over the alleged assassination attempt on Russia's President Vladimir Putin as at least two UAV drones were launched at the Kremlin Palace, the official residence of the head of the Russian Federation. Kyiv categorically denied involvement in the launch of drones to kill Putin. “We do not attack the Kremlin because, first of all, it does not solve any military problems. Absolutely. And this is extremely disadvantageous from the point of view of preparing our offensive measures,” Ukraine's presidential advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, said in a statement.  

Podolyak made claims that Kremlin will use the drone attack as a pretext for “a large-scale terrorist attack." He noted that Ukraine is "watching with interest the growing number of mishaps and incidents that are taking place in different parts of the Russian Federation." Zelenskyy's aide stressed that the emergence of unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs] at energy facilities or on the Kremlin’s territory "can only indicate the guerilla activities of local [Russian] resistance forces." 

"As you know, drones can be bought at any military store. The loss of power control over the country by Putin’s clan is obvious. But on the other hand, Russia has repeatedly talked about its total control over the air. In a word, something is happening in Russian Federation, but definitely without Ukraine’s drones over the Kremlin," Podolyak asserted. The latter was referring to the derailed freight train after an explosive detonated on the track in Russia’s Bryansk oblast earlier yesterday. A Russian fuel storage facility was ablaze in Kozacha Bay, Krasnodar, last week at the port of Sevastopol near the 2014 annexed Crimea which Kremlin said was carried out by Ukraine using a “kamikaze” drone. 

"As for the drones over the Kremlin. It’s all predictable. Russia is clearly preparing a large-scale terrorist attack. That’s why it first detains a large allegedly subversive group in Crimea. And then it demonstrates “drones over the Kremlin," Podolyak stated in a tweet.

#ThisIsExclusive | Kremlin claims an attempt of assassination on Russian President Vladimir Putin by Kyiv (Ukraine). Ukrainian MP @GoncharenkoUa #LIVE on Republic. Says, 'Russia could have staged it.'#Kremlin #Kyiv #Ukraine #VladimirPutin pic.twitter.com/NAB1BOUicu

— Republic (@republic) May 3, 2023

'We have no information': Zelenskyy's aide

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office also rejected Russia's claim which it labelled as unverified in an official statement. The spokesman of the president, Serhiy Nikiforov, asserted that the Kremlin drone attack was "staged" in order to "inflame the situation before May 9" referring to the Victory Day celebration on Red Square to commemorate the Soviet Union's Red Army's victory against the German Nazi troops during the WWII. 

"We have no information about the so-called night attacks on the Kremlin. But as President Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated, Ukraine directs all its available forces and means to the liberation of its own territories, not to the attack of foreign ones," Serhiy Nikiforov, Zelesnkyy's spokesperson emphasized.

While Putin was unharmed, the Kremlin labelled drone strikes at President Vladimir Putin’s residence overnight as a "planned terrorist attack." The unmanned drones launched allegedly by Ukrainian saboteurs were disabled by Russian state security services. The Kremlin, in a statement, said that it “regards these actions as a planned terrorist attack and an attempt on the president,” and that it reserves the right to retaliate against such moves.

"Timely actions taken by the military and special services” have disabled the drones, the Kremlin informed, adding that the fragments of the debris scattered on the Kremlin grounds around the Palace. Putin's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov declared that there were no casualties reported and that Putin was not available in the Kremlin when the incident unfolded. 

Russia strikes village in Ukraine's Kherson, air alert activated

Wednesday's drone launch is the most blatant and direct assault on Russian soil yet. Since the inception of the war, Russia’s Defense Ministry has been accusing Ukraine of launching drone strikes targeting infrastructure in several of Russia's populous regions. Shortly after the drone attack, reports emerged that Russia has struck a village in the Kherson region, Suspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster posted to its Telegram channel.

"Russian aviation attacked Kizomys in the Kherson region. Released three guided aerial bombs over the village. Three residential buildings were completely destroyed and a gas pipeline was damaged. There are no dead or injured," it said. Speculations emerged that Russia was preparing for a large-scale terrorist attack on Ukrainian territory shortly after the drone incident. Ukraine, in response, had said that its forces do not wage "an exclusively defensive war" and that Kyiv "does not attack targets on the territory of the Russian Federation." Across the territory of Ukraine, an air alert was declared. 

Oleg Morozov, deputy of the State Duma from United Russia, told RIA Novosti: "️From today, Vladimir Zelensky should be declared a terrorist, a blow is needed to convince the enemy that Russia has the opportunity to punish such actions to death."

Kremlin-backed Telegram channels are claiming that the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrey Yermak, had hinted at the possible drone attack on the Kremlin on his telegram channel. "Before the apparent attacks, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andrey Yermak, posted on Telegram nothing more than a rocket and later an emoji with emergency lights. He deleted the cryptic messages sometime later," Russian telegram claimed.   

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Published May 3rd, 2023 at 20:21 IST

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