Russia accuses Ukraine of attempt to kill Putin with drones

Officials in Moscow rage after alleged Ukrainian attack on the Kremlin, but Kyiv denies responsibility.

Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting an overnight drone attack on the Kremlin with the aim of killing President Vladimir Putin, the most dramatic charge Moscow has levelled against Kyiv since its war on its neighbour began.

The allegation was made on Wednesday (May 3) by the Russian government and reported by several state news agencies.

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.