Medvedev: Zelenskyy should be “physically eliminated” – the nightly update without photos

Zelenskyj on European tour

As attacks on strategically important infrastructure in Russia intensify, the Ukrainian president campaigns for more war aid against Moscow on a tour of Europe. After a surprise visit to Helsinki for the meeting of the Scandinavian countries, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the Netherlands late on Wednesday evening. According to media reports, he will meet Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren in The Hague on Thursday. A visit is then planned to the International Criminal Court, which has been investigating war crimes during the Russian attack on Ukraine for months.

Zelenskyj’s unannounced visit is his first in the Netherlands. After talks with President Sauli Niinistö in Helsinki, he met the heads of government of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, who promised him long-term support in the defense against Russia. “The Nordic countries remain steadfast in their commitment to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders,” they said in a joint statement after the meeting.

The current developments in the live ticker:

In view of the July 11-12 NATO summit in Riga, Latvia, Selenskyj intends to use his performances in Europe to promote Ukraine’s early entry into the defense alliance – and apparently in Germany as well. The Berlin police surprisingly announced on Wednesday that they were taking all security measures for Zelensky’s visit to the capital on May 13 and 14. The presentation of the Charlemagne Prize to Selenskyj in Aachen is scheduled for May 14.

Zelenskyy denies allegations of the Russian Kremlin incident

On the sidelines of his visit to Finland, Zelenskyy accused Russia of fabricating recent allegations of an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin. “We are not attacking (Russian President Vladimir) Putin or Moscow, we are fighting on our own territory and defending our towns and cities,” Zelenskyi said in Helsinki. “We are not attacking Putin, we will leave that to the (international) tribunal.” The Russian leadership is deliberately spreading false information because it has already lost the war that started just over 14 months ago. The Kremlin tries to motivate its soldiers to fight against the neighboring country.

Videos had previously emerged of an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin at night. The Russian government spoke of an “attempted assassination” with Putin as the target. The US embassy in Kiev subsequently warned of possible retaliatory attacks and called on US citizens in and around the Ukrainian capital to exercise extreme caution in the face of the threat of missile strikes. On Thursday evening there was an air-raid alarm in the capital region and other parts of Ukraine. No major damage was reported this morning.

Ex-Kremlin chief Medvedev: Zelenskyy should be “physically eliminated”.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for the killing of the Ukrainian leader in response to the alleged Ukrainian drone strike. “Following today’s act of terror, there is no other option than the physical elimination of Zelenskyy and his clique,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram on Wednesday. In his view, Zelenskyy “is not necessary to sign the surrender of Ukraine,” Medvedev wrote. “As is known, Hitler also did not sign (surrender).” There will certainly be a deputy in the Ukraine like Hitler’s short successor, Admiral Karl Dönitz.

Military expert suspects Russian disinformation campaign

German Russia expert Stefan Meister suspects that a disinformation campaign is behind the Russian account of the alleged attack on Putin. “Ukraine should be accused of state terrorism,” Meister told media group Funke newspapers on Thursday. “Perhaps this pretext is intended to justify a major offensive on Kiev, even more brutal attacks against the Ukrainian civilian population or even an attempt to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.”

Wagner boss Prigozhin: Ukrainian offensive has begun

According to the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Ukrainian armed forces have apparently already started their long-awaited offensive. “They have soldiers and ammunition without end,” Prigozhin reported on his Telegram channel on Wednesday evening. “I assume the offensive (from the Ukrainians) has started.” There was initially no confirmation of his claim, not even from the Russian military. In the evening, the Ukrainian General Staff spoke only of heavy fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

For weeks, the Ukrainian military leadership has kept the Russian army in suspense with reports of an impending offensive to recapture the occupied territories. Recently, attacks on strategically important infrastructure near the border with Ukraine in Russia have increased – possibly as part of preparations for such a counter-offensive.

In the south of Russia, fire broke out for the second time in a short time on Thursday night in a tank farm near the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula. The fire was caused by a drone attack and was extinguished about two hours later, the Russian state agency TASS reported on the basis of official information. The tank farm of an oil refinery in the village of Ilski was hit.

A similar incident had occurred the night before in the Volna settlement, about 50 kilometers away, in the Taman district, which is also in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region. There, too, a fuel reservoir caught fire and the Russian authorities also cited a drone attack as the cause. A fuel depot in Crimea was set on fire by a drone attack last weekend. In the western Russian region of Bryansk, two freight trains derailed shortly after each other after explosions. (sda/dpa)