Russia accused of stepping up propaganda war with claim Ukraine targeted Putin

President Zelensky denies accusation of drone strike on Kremlin – insisting ‘we don’t attack Putin or Moscow’

Russia has been accused of taking its propaganda war to new heights after Moscow claimed Kyiv had tried to assassinate president Vladimir Putin in a drone strike targeting his residence in the Kremlin.

Ukrainian premier Volodymyr Zelensky vehemently denied the allegation, saying “we don’t attack Putin, or Moscow, we fight on our territory” as other Kyiv officials suggested Russia might be setting the scene for further escalation of the war as it threatened “retaliatory measures”.

As Kyiv prepares for a counteroffensive against Russian forces that Mr Zelensky said would be launched soon, Mr Putin’s presidential office said two drones were downed overnight, with the Russian leader having not been in the complex at the time. The RIA state news agency said Mr Putin spent Wednesday working at his Novo Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow.