New serious accusations that further intensify the already explosive climate of the war in Ukraine were publicly voiced by the Russian side, placing the Ukrainian president himself, Volodymyr Zelensky, at the center.
According to the governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, Zelensky personally participated in the planning of attacks both against the presidential residence of the Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the Novgorod region and in strikes carried out during the New Year period.
“Zelensky planned them himself”
Speaking on a television channel, Saldo stated clearly that: “Zelensky himself planned these actions last week, the attempted strike against the president’s residence and then the New Year strikes, specifically in Khorly”.
This statement, if confirmed, elevates the conflict to an entirely new level, as it transfers responsibility from the military field to the highest political leadership of Ukraine, nullifying any narrative of “autonomous military actions”.
The attack in Khorly - Civilian deaths on New Year’s Eve
On New Year’s Eve, unmanned aerial vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) attacked a café and a hotel in the village of Khorly in the Kherson region.
The toll was particularly heavy: 28 people lost their lives while more than 30 were injured.
The strikes occurred in a civilian use area, a fact that reinforced accusations of a targeted attack with serious humanitarian consequences, especially at a moment of high symbolism.
Attempted attack in Valdai - Putin’s residence targeted
A few days earlier, on the night from 28 to 29 December, Russian authorities reported that Ukrainian drones attempted to strike the Valdai area in Novgorod, where a residence of the Russian president is located.
Moscow characterized the incident as a terrorist act, warning that the response would not be only “diplomatic”.
This wording was interpreted as a clear message of military escalation.
According to the Russian side, the response to Kyiv will be both diplomatic, a change of position in negotiations, and military, the targets and timing of which “have already been determined”.
“We repeat, this is not a forced reaction of the Kremlin to certain events, that is, they attacked us and we are obliged to respond.
These are proactive moves by Moscow, which it is trying to use to achieve its goals.
And the goals arise from the situation around the negotiations,” the Kremlin conveys.
The Ukrainian side denied any involvement, characterizing the Russian accusations as false and arguing that this is an attempt to undermine potential peace negotiations.
According to Kyiv, such statements fall within a broader strategy of information warfare.
War at the top
Against the backdrop of these developments, the United States had previously warned that Russia is in a state of readiness to respond to “provocations”.
The timing of the attacks, the public accusations, and their chronological placement raise serious questions as to whether the conflict is approaching a point of uncontrollable escalation.
The accusations of personal involvement of Zelensky in the planning of attacks, especially against a target directly linked to Putin, transfer the war from the battlefield to the level of direct top level political confrontation.
Whether these are real events or part of a broader information war, the result is the same:
the possibility of diplomatic de escalation recedes, while the risk of harsh retaliation and further bloodshed increases dramatically.
Advance warning of an attack by Zelensky
The accusations by Saldo are, however, confirmed by Zelensky himself, who in his customary Christmas greetings also conveyed an extremely grim, raw, and cynical message against Vladimir Putin.
It was a. peculiar advance warning of the attack against the Russian president that came to light today (29/12).
His statement overflowed with hatred, a fact that sparked extensive discussions in Ukraine and internationally.
Zelensky’s wish during Christmas was not merely a typical wish for peace and prosperity.
The corrupt Zelensky made a particularly powerful statement, calling on all Ukrainians to make the same “wish” on Christmas night, according to the tradition that on the eve of the holiday, “if you say your wish, it will come true”.
The wish referred to, as he himself said, is “to die”, a statement that is assessed as referring to the Russian president Vladimir Putin, although Zelensky did not clarify this explicitly.
The traditional Christmas wish concerns hope, love, and peace, values that embody the essence of the Christian faith.
However, Zelensky’s statement offers an entirely different picture, a wish based on destruction and revenge.
At a moment when he could have acknowledged the need for peace and reconciliation, the Ukrainian president chose a path of warlike rhetoric that intensifies confrontation and polarization.
The Ukrainians had targeted Putin with drones 2 other times
However, this is not the first Ukrainian attempt to attack the Russian president with drones.
On the night of 2 October, Ukrainian drones attacked Sochi while Putin was visiting the city, as the Ukrainian outlet Strana reported at the time.
According to the newspaper, shortly before the attack, Putin completed his speech at the plenary session of the Valdai Forum.
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