Kyiv denies claims of Putin assassination attempt

The Russian government claimed an assassination attempt was made against President Vladimir Putin after fragments of two Ukrainian drones slammed into the Kremlin, causing a fireball near the roof of a building Wednesday.

Hi, it's Julius with an update on Russia and Ukraine.

A statement from the Kremlin said no one was injured in what it described as a "terrorist act." Russian President Vladimir Putin was not in Moscow at the time of the attack, his spokesman said.

“Last night, the Kyiv regime made an attempt to strike with unmanned aerial vehicles on the Kremlin residence of the President of the Russian Federation,” the state-run TASS news agency said, citing the Kremlin. The fragments struck the Kremlin after the drones were shot down by Russia's military, the government said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was meeting with Nordic leaders in Helsinki, denied any involvement.

“We don’t attack Putin or Moscow,'' he said at a news conference. "We fight on our territory. We’re defending our villages and cities.”

Russia has previously staged false-flag operations in order to try to justify assaults on Ukraine. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak dismissed Russia's claim as a ruse “to justify massive strikes on Ukrainian cities, on the civilian population, on infrastructure facilities” in coming days.

The incident comes as Russia prepares to mark "Victory Day" on May 9 − an annual celebration of its World War II victory.

More on the Ukraine-Russia crisis:

• The Kremlin reportedly distributed a manual instructing Russian state media on how to cover an upcoming potential Ukrainian counteroffensive. If real, that may indicate the Kremlin is trying to prepare the public for Ukrainian successes.
• Damage in Ukraine from recent Russian strikes indicates a possible shift away from targeting Ukraine’s electrical power network, the British Defense Ministry said.