According to the Ukrainian military, messages aboard Russian drones that were launched towards Odesa overnight read “for Moscow” and “for the Kremlin,” which are ostensibly references to an alleged murder attempt against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The words on the drones’ two tails can be seen in photos published by Ukraine’s Southern Command, which the command claimed demonstrated the apparent “reason for the attack.”
15 Shahed-131/136 drones were fired at Odesa, according to the Southern Command, and 12 of them were shot down by mobile fire units and air defense forces. The other three impacted student housing at a university.
Ukraine has denied any involvement in what Russia says was a drone attack on the Kremlin and an assassination attempt against Putin early Wednesday morning.
Video on social media shows a bright flash and a puff of smoke over a part of the Kremlin, the official residence of the Russian president and the most potent symbol of power in Moscow. Putin was not in the building at the time, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied the accusations, saying during a news conference: “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow.”
US officials said they were still assessing the incident, and had no information about who might have been responsible.
Meanwhile, A former Russian lawmaker linked with militant groups in the country told CNN the alleged attack was the work of Russian partisans, not the Ukrainian military.