Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin by drone, Kremlin says

Russian military and special services 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, in which it said no one was hurt, on Ukraine.

“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 celebration next Tuesday 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.

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Videos circulated widely on social media Wednesday showing an object exploding over the Kremlin, the building’s roof on fire and smoke rising from the area.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied his country was behind the attack.

“We are not attacking Putin or Moscow,” he said at 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.”