Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to kill Vladimir Putin by launching two drones at the Kremlin, which Volodymyr Zelensky denies.
What happened above the Kremlin, in Moscow, on the night of Tuesday May 2 to Wednesday May 3? Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of“an attempted terrorist act and an attempt on the life of the president” Vladimir Putin, by sending two drones shot down as they approached the Russian presidential palace. One of the videos released Wednesday by Russian media on social networks shows a device exploding in a sheaf of flames at the top of the dome of the Palace of the Senate, one of the main buildings in the enclosure of the Kremlin. The Russian president was absent, and the authorities did not report injuries.
>> “There are very few reasons to think that it is a Ukrainian attack”, reacts a specialist
“We did not attack Putin”assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a press conference in Helsinki (Finland). “We don’t have enough weapons for that”, he justified in particular. Senior Russian officials hold him accountable and have called for retaliation: “After today’s terrorist attack, there is no alternative left, other than the physical elimination of Zelensky and his clique.”wrote ex-president Dmitry Medvedev on Telegram. The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken declared for his part to take “everything that comes out of the Kremlin with great care”. IRUSSIA announced the opening of an investigation for “terrorism”, and promised to maintain the military parade on May 9, despite the multiplication of suspected attacks. Here is the rest of the important information of this day.
Heavy toll in the Kherson region
Russian strikes “massive” hit this region of southern Ukraine on Wednesday. According to a report updated at the end of the day by Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram, they killed 21 people and injured 48. Ukrainian president says Russian shells hit “a station and a crossroads, a building, a tool shop, a supermarket and a gas station”. “We will never forgive”, he also wrote. The Ukrainian authorities had notably indicated, a little earlier, that three people had been killed while repairing an energy site.
New beginnings of a Ukrainian counter-offensive
The head of the military administration of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, decreed a curfew from Friday evening and for 58 hours, until Monday morning. He justified “these temporary restrictions” by “the necessity” For “the forces of order to be able to do their job”.
To help Ukrainian operations, the United States announced a new shipment worth 300 million dollars, mainly consisting of ammunition for artillery, including rockets for Himars missile launchers.
Zelensky visits Finland
The Ukrainian president made an unexpected trip to Finland. “I believe that this year will be decisive for us, for Europe, for Ukraine, decisive for victory” on Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto, whom he met on the sidelines of a meeting of the Nordic countries. He congratulated Finland on joining NATO in April: Ukraine “needs the same level of security guarantees”he pointed out.
Sauli Niinisto returned to the subject of the possible supply to Ukraine of American F-18 fighter planes in service in Finland, previously mentioned by outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin, stressing that, if necessary, this This could not take place before the delivery of the F-35s which are to replace them, expected in 2025.