President Volodymyr Zelensky refuted Moscow’s assertion that Ukraine attempted to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, after Russia claimed that two drones were shot down above the Kremlin.
“We didn’t attack Putin… We fight on our territory, we are defending our villages and cities,” Zelensky told reporters at a press conference with Nordic leaders in Helsinki.
“We don’t attack Putin or Moscow. We don’t have enough weapons for this,” he added.
Russia said Wednesday that it shot down two drones targeting Putin’s Kremlin apartment in what it described as a “terrorist” assassination attempt by Ukrainians.
“The devices were put out of action,” a Kremlin statement said.
Putin was not injured, and there were no casualties, according to Moscow.
When asked why Moscow would charge Kiev, Zelensky responded, “Russia has no victories.”
“He (Putin) can no longer motivate his society and he can no longer send his military to die for nothing,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian president attended a summit in Helsinki attended by the presidents of the five Nordic countries.
Zelensky underlined Ukraine’s desire to join NATO, while Nordic NATO members released a statement pledging to “continue to support Ukraine on its path towards future membership.”
“Ukraine is already a de facto member of NATO and we are actually cooperating for the sake of common defence,” Zelensky said.