Russia claims that Ukraine attempted to assassinate Vladimir Putin
The world was rocked after dramatic footage emerged of what Russia says was an attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin.
The incident occurred earlier this week, and it appeared to involve a drone exploding just over a dome on the Kremlin.
Former Russian president calls for assassination of Zelensky
đźš©Clearest footage of the drone attack against the #Kremlin pic.twitter.com/4Gvztzq86r
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) May 3, 2023
The Washington Examiner noted that the alleged attack resulted in a harsh response from Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president who currently serves as Kremlin Security Council deputy chairman.
"After today's terrorist attack, there are no options left other than the physical elimination of Zelensky and his clique," Medvedev was quoted as saying in a post on social Russian media.
Medvedev wasn't alone in calling for action, as Russian State Duma member Vyacheslav Volodin put up a similar Russian social media post.
Kremlin spokesman says Russia "reserves the right to take countermeasures"
"No kind of negotiations can be held with the Zelensky regime," Volodin wrote, adding, "We will demand the use of weapons that are capable of ending and destroying the Kyivan terrorist regime."
Dmitry Peskov is a Kremlin spokesman, and he was quoted as telling state media that the incident involved "two unmanned aerial vehicles" which were downed "without causing any casualties or damage."
Peskov added that Putin was not at the Kremlin when the explosion occurred but stressed, "Russia reserves the right to take countermeasures wherever and whenever it deems appropriate."
"We view these actions as a planned terrorist attack and an assassination attempt targeting the president," he declared.
Ukraine denies targeting Putin
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters at a press conference in Finland that he had nothing to do with the incident.
"We don't attack Putin or Moscow," Zelensky insisted. "We fight on our territory. We are defending our villages and cities. We don't have enough weapons for this."
"That's why we don't use it anywhere [else]. For us, that is a deficit. We can't spend it. And we didn't attack Putin. We leave it to [a] tribunal," he added.
Zelenskyy’s statement on the Russian drone attack accusations (via @svtnyheter):
“We don’t attack Putin or Moscow, we fight on our territory. We’re defending our villages and cities. We don’t have, you know, enough weapons for this. That’s why we don’t use it anywhere [else]” pic.twitter.com/fILacFaErj
— Minna Ålander 🌻 (@minna_alander) May 3, 2023
