Ukraine’s Zelensky rejects allegations of attack on Putin

HELSINKI: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday denied Moscow’s claim that his country attempted to assassinate Russian leader Vladimir Putin after Russia said two drones were shot down over 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 it had shot down two drones targeting Putin’s Kremlin residence in what it called a Ukrainian "terrorist" assassination attempt.

"The devices were put out of action," a Kremlin statement said.

Moscow said Putin was not hurt and there were no casualties.

Asked about why Moscow would accuse Kyiv, Zelensky replied, "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.

The Ukrainian leader on Wednesday participated in a summit in Helsinki gathering the leaders of the five Nordic nations.

Zelensky reaffirmed that Ukraine aims to become a member of NATO, while the Nordic NATO members issued a statement declaring they would "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.