Extract from ABC News
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian leader Vladimir Putin was behind the death of mutinous mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in an unexplained plane crash with his top lieutenants last month.
Key points:
- The Kremlin called the suggestion that Mr Putin ordered the deaths of Mr Prigozhin an "absolute lie"
- Kyiv denounced Moscow's local elections on Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory
- The latest wave of Russian aerial attacks killed at least four people
Mr Zelenskyy, who provided no evidence to back up his assertion, made the comment in passing at a conference in Kyiv as he was asked a question about the Russian president.
"The fact that he killed Prigozhin — at least that's the information we all have, not any other kind — that also speaks to his rationality, and about the fact that he is weak," Mr Zelenskyy said.
The Kremlin says all possible causes of the crash will be investigated, including the possibility of foul play.
The Kremlin has rejected as an "absolute lie" the suggestion — without evidence — by some Western politicians and commentators, that Mr Putin ordered Mr Prigozhin to be killed in revenge.
Ukraine wants 'powerful and long-range' weapons
Mr Zelensky also warned that "slower" arms supplies from Western countries were threatening his counteroffensive, calling for more "powerful and long-range" weapons to push back Russian forces.
Ukraine launched its pushback against Russian forces in June after stockpiling Western weapons, but has made limited gains as its troops encounter heavily fortified Russian defensive lines.
"All processes are becoming more complicated and slower — from sanctions to the provision of weapons," Mr Zelenskyy said in comments published on the presidential website.
"The longer it takes, the more people suffer … If we are not in the sky and Russia is, they stop us from the sky. They stop our counteroffensive," he said.
Ukraine condemns sham elections in Russia-occupied regions
Mr Zelenskyy's comments came as Moscow held local elections on Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, that have been denounced by Kyiv and international groups as a sham.
Ukraine's foreign ministry said the elections were "worthless" and would have no legal standing.
Russia is holding regional elections, including in four Ukrainian regions that it does not fully control — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
The ministry said in a statement that the elections taking place on Ukrainian territory "grossly violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine" as well as international law.
"Russia's sham elections in the temporarily occupied territories are null and void. They will not have any legal consequences and will not lead to a change in the status of the Ukrainian territories captured by the Russian army," it said.
Kyiv called on its international partners to denounce the votes and not to recognise the results.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday also described the voting in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine as "sham elections" and said they were "illegitimate".
The Russian embassy in the US responded by saying on Friday that Washington was meddling in Russia's internal affairs.
Russian missile attack on Zelenskyy's hometown
Four people were killed and scores wounded on Friday in Russian air strikes, including a deadly attack in which a missile slammed into a police building in Mr Zelenskyy's hometown.
In the latest wave of aerial attacks since Russia's invasion last year, two women and a 46-year-old man were killed in the village of Odradakamianka in the southern region of Kherson, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
The fourth death was in a missile strike that reduced a police administration building to rubble in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, where Mr Zelenskyy was born.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko initially said a police officer had been killed but officials later said the victim was a private security guard.
Mr Klymenko said 54 people were also wounded in the attack, which officials said damaged administrative buildings, 17 high-rise blocks, four private houses and a religious building.
"There is a lot of work — the enemy has caused a lot of trouble in the city," regional governor Serhiy Lysak said.
He posted photos on the Telegram messaging app showing rescuers sifting through the rubble, other workers bringing in materials to start repairs and volunteers distributing tea and biscuits to residents. A large fire was extinguished.
Russia also carried out its fifth drone attack of this week on the southern region of Odesa, which is home to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and Danube River that are used to export grain and other agricultural products.
Reuters
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