The UAE has condemned a suspected drone strike on a residence belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin claims was carried out by Ukraine.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraine had launched an overnight strike using 91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles on Mr Putin's state residence in the Novgorod region of Russia.
Mr Lavrov said the wave of drones was intercepted and destroyed by Russian air defence systems.
He said there were no reports of casualties or damage resulting from the incident.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the claims, which he described as a “complete fabrication intended to justify additional attacks against Ukraine”.
“It is critical that the world doesn’t stay silent now. We cannot allow Russia to undermine the work on achieving a lasting peace,” Mr Zelenskyy wrote on X.
UAE peace call
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the “deplorable attack”, emphasising the threat it poses to security and stability.
It repeated the UAE's solidarity with the Russian President and underlined its “unwavering rejection of all forms of violence aimed at undermining security and stability”.
The UAE has supported efforts to secure a peaceful solution to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has raged since February 2022.
The Emirates has served as a mediator to enable a series of prisoner exchanges between the warring nations since the start of the conflict.
A total of 4,641 Russian and Ukrainian prisoners had been freed in 17 exchanges brokered by the Emirates, as of August.
