US denies any involvement in Kremlin drone attack as Zelenskyy gives speech at the Hague
'We all want to see a different Vladimir here'
The United States has denied it had any role in an alleged drone attack on the Moscow Kremlin - the home of the Russian president.
The White House National Security spokesperson, John Kirby, said the US had "nothing to do with this," in an interview with American broadcaster MSNBC, after claims by Putin's spokesperson that Washington was "behind this attack".
On Wednesday, Russian authorities had initially accused Ukraine of attempting to attack the Kremlin and assassinate President Vladimir Putin using two drones. Ukraine denied responsibility.Speaking at a conference the following day, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "the decision on such actions and terrorist attacks is not made in Kyiv, but in Washington.
“And then Kyiv does what it’s told to do,” he added, without offering evidence for his claim.
Russia's foreign ministry announced that it would open an investigation into the alleged attack, saying it couldn't "go unanswered".
They added the incident showed Kyiv had no interest in negotiating an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was convinced Vladimir Putin will face an international war crimes court - after his nation wins the war.
During an unannounced visit to The Hague on Thursday, Mr Zelenskyy said the Russian president "deserves to be sentenced".
In a speech titled 'No Peace without Justice for Ukraine' at the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mr Zelenskyy said "we all want to see a different Vladimir here".
"And I’m sure we will see that happen when we win, and we will win,” he added. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, relating to the abduction of children.
His speech was an appeal for a full-fledged tribunal to prosecute that overarching crime and a plea for a special tribunal for aggression.
“If we want true justice, we should not look for excuses and should not refer to the shortcomings of the current international law but make bold decisions that will correct that shortcomings that unfortunately exist in international law.”
ICC judges said in March they found "reasonable grounds to believe” that Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights were responsible for deporting children from Ukraine to Russia.
Could Vladimir Putin be prosecuted?
The ICC said in a March 18 statement that Mr Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children) and that of unlawful transfer of (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has made repeated visits to Ukraine and is setting up an office in Kyiv to facilitate his ongoing investigations in the country.
However, the ICC does not have jurisdiction to prosecute Mr Putin for the crime of aggression – the unlawful invasion of another sovereign country.
The Russian leader is also unlikely to travel to any of the ICC’s 123 member states that are under an obligation to arrest him if they can.
The Dutch government has offered to host a court that could be established to prosecute the crime of aggression and an office is being established to gather evidence.
The new International Centre for Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression should be operational by summer, the European Union's judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, said in February.
Overnight attacks in Ukraine
Ukraine's Air Force Command said early on Thursday that Russian forces attacked multiple Ukrainian regions overnight with Iranian-made drones.
Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine overnight and explosions were reported in the southern city of Odesa and the capital, Kyiv.
As Ukraine denies an attack on the Kremlin as tensions around Russia intensify
Ukraine said in Odesa, three drones – inscribed “for Moscow” and “for the Kremlin,” referencing the alleged Ukrainian attack – hit an educational facility, but the fire was put out and there were no casualties.
Kyiv was targeted with drones and missiles, its military administration said, in what is a third airborne attack on the capital in four days. All of them were shot down.
What happened on Wednesday?
Mr Zelenskyy's visit to The Hague came as questions continued around Russia's claim that it foiled an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Kremlin early on Wednesday.
Moscow branded it an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Putin and promised retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act.
Mr Putin wasn’t in the Kremlin at the time and was at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.
There was no independent verification of the purported attack, which Russia authorities said occurred overnight but presented no evidence to support it.
Questions also arose as to why it took the Kremlin hours to report the incident and why videos of it also surfaced later in the day.
Zelenskyy set to visit Berlin after Netherlands trip
The Ukrainian President is set to visit Berlin after his unannounced trip to the Netherlands. Local reports suggest he will travel to the country on the 13th of May; although this is yet to be confirmed by either Kyiv or Berlin.
Zelenskyy has previously called for Germany to do more to assist his country against the Russian invasion, by supplying it with more weaponry and reducing financial ties to Russia.
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