Zelenskyy wants Putin trial, Russia accuses US on drones

The Hague, The Gulf Observer: Ukraine and Russia pressed their wartime rhetoric Thursday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressing confidence that Vladimir Putin would be convicted of war crimes and the Kremlin alleging that the U.S. was behind what it called an assassination attempt against the Russian president.

The countries’ leaders have personally attacked each other multiple times during the war Russia started by invading Ukraine in February 2022. The latest flareup came Wednesday, with Russia’s claim that Ukraine had attacked the Kremlin in Moscow with drones meant to assassinate Putin.

Zelenskyy denied that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the purported drone attack. The Kremlin promised unspecified retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act, and pro-Kremlin figures called for the assassinations of senior Ukraine leaders.

Uncertainty still surrounds exactly what happened in the purported attack.

Putin’s spokesman on Thursday accused the United States of involvement. To generate domestic support for the war, Moscow has often tried to blame Washington for trying to destroy Russia through its help for Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a daily conference call that the Kremlin was “well aware that the decision on such actions and terrorist attacks is not made in Kyiv, but in Washington.”