On Thursday, Russia claimed that the United States was responsible for a drone attack on the Kremlin, allegedly intended to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Russian forces launched combat drone strikes against Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, addressing the International Court of Justice (ICC) in The Hague, insisted that Putin must face justice for the ongoing conflict and that Kyiv would work towards establishing a new tribunal for this purpose.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, accused Ukraine of carrying out the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin on US orders, though he provided no proof to support his claim. In response, White House national security spokesman John Kirby called Peskov's accusation a lie and denied that the US had encouraged or facilitated Ukraine's actions outside its borders. Kirby also noted that the events at the Kremlin remained unconfirmed.
Both Kyiv and Washington have dismissed any involvement in the incident, which comes after a series of explosions targeting freight trains and oil depots in western Russia and Russian-controlled Crimea. Moscow has attributed these attacks to Ukraine as well.
Peskov stated that dismissing the Kremlin attack allegations was absurd, claiming that decisions about such actions come from Washington, not Kyiv. He added that a thorough investigation was underway and that any response would be carefully weighed and balanced.
In a separate statement, Russia's foreign ministry declared that the alleged drone attack "must not go unanswered" and demonstrated Kyiv's unwillingness to resolve the 15-month conflict through negotiation.
Russia has increasingly accused the US of being a direct participant in the war, aiming to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Moscow. Washington denies this, maintaining that it is arming Kyiv to defend itself and recover territory illegally occupied by Russia.
Earlier, Russia fired 24 combat drones at Ukraine, targeting Kyiv for the third time in four days and striking a university campus in the Black Sea city of Odesa. There were no reports of casualties.
Kyiv's city administration stated that it is likely that Russia used ballistic missiles in addition to drones, all of which were shot down.
In total, air defense systems downed 18 of the 24 "kamikaze" drones in the pre-dawn attack. In Odesa, 12 of the 15 drones were downed, while three hit the university campus, according to the southern military command.
Zelenskiy, during his speech in The Hague, emphasized the need for justice against the aggressor, calling it a "historical responsibility."
There are currently no ongoing peace talks to end the war, which has caused significant destruction in Ukrainian towns and cities, resulted in thousands of deaths, and displaced millions from their homes.
