Liveblog: ++ Selenskyj demands condemnation of Putin in The Hague ++

During a speech in The Hague, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy demanded that Russian President Putin be punished for his “criminal actions”. Ukraine reports shooting down of kamikaze drones. All developments in the live blog.

After Moscow reported shooting down two Ukrainian drones allegedly targeting the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has accused the US of being behind the alleged attack. “The decisions about such attacks are not made in Kiev, but in Washington. Kiev only implements what is asked of it,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“Kiev’s and Washington’s efforts to deny any responsibility (for the attack) are completely ridiculous,” Peskov said. President Putin works from his office in the Kremlin, the spokesman said. The security precautions would also be further strengthened with a view to the military parade on May 9th.

Russia’s government has repeatedly denied the legitimacy of Ukraine’s government, calling it a US puppet.

In a speech at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be sentenced – because of “his criminal acts”. “We all want to see a different Vladimir here in The Hague – the one who deserves to be punished for his criminal actions here in the capital of international law. I’m sure it will happen if we win,” Zelenskyy said in a speech .

Selenskyj had unexpectedly arrived in the Netherlands in the evening. Talks with Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Defense Secretary Kajsa Ollongren were also scheduled for today. It is the President’s first visit to the Netherlands.

According to international military experts, Russia has two alleged Ukrainian Drone attacks on the Kremlin probably self-directed. According to the dpa news agency, the Washington-based Institute for War Studies (ISW) wrote that this was intended to bring the Russian public closer to the war and create the conditions for broader social mobilization. Several pieces of evidence indicated that the attack was staged.

According to the US think tank, the Russian authorities have recently taken steps to strengthen air defenses, including within Moscow itself. “Panzir” anti-aircraft systems have been placed near Moscow to create air defense circles around the city. It is therefore extremely unlikely that two drones could have penetrated multiple air defense rings and been detonated or shot down directly over the heart of the Kremlin – in a way that could be easily captured on camera, according to the report.

According to the ISW, the immediate and coordinated Russian response to the incident suggests that the attack was prepared internally in such a way that its intended political impact overshadowed the embarrassment of hitting the Kremlin. With the action shortly before the “Day of Victory” on May 9, the war should be presented to the local audience as existential.

British secret services see a weak point in the Russian army in tank depots near the Russian-Ukrainian border. Since the beginning of the year, these have been repeatedly damaged, especially those near the border and in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, the British Ministry of Defense said in a short report on Twitter today.

Just a few days ago, a tank farm caught fire near the Crimean Bridge after a drone attack. London suspects that the frequency of these attacks will have consequences: Moscow will probably be forced to reorganize its logistics and protect the fuel better or store it in less threatened areas, it said.

Ukraine’s air defense said it shot down 18 of 24 kamikaze drones launched by Russia before dawn. Fifteen Iranian Shahed drones were fired at the Black Sea port of Odessa, twelve of which were intercepted. The other three fell on the university grounds and no one was injured, the military command for the southern front said. The city administration in Kiev says that all drones targeting the capital have been shot down.

In southern Russia, a major fire broke out in a tank farm near the Crimean Peninsula for the second time within a short period of time. The fire was triggered by a drone attack, the Russian state agency TASS reported in the morning, citing rescue workers. The tank farm of an oil refinery in the village of Ilski was hit.

The night before, a similar incident had occurred in the Volna settlement, around 50 kilometers away, in the Taman district, which is also in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar. There, too, a fuel reservoir caught fire, and Russian authorities there also named a drone attack as the cause. On the outskirts of Volna is a large transhipment terminal for oil and oil products, which are then shipped across the Black Sea.

Former Federal President Joachim Gauck has sharply criticized former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his connections to Russia. “When I think of Gerhard Schröder’s character, it makes me sad,” Gauck told the “Tagesspiegel”. For him it was “unacceptable how Schröder, as ex-Chancellor, subordinated his reputation and the reputation of Germany to his private interests”.

Schröder was Chancellor from 1998 to 2005. After his tenure, he worked for Russian energy companies for many years and is considered a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, Schröder came under massive pressure because of his connections to Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in the Netherlands. It is Zelenskyi’s first visit to the Netherlands and it was not previously announced. Zelenskyj is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren in The Hague today. Then he should give a speech. A visit to the International Criminal Court is then planned there, which has been investigating war crimes in the course of the Russian attack on Ukraine for months.

At least 21 people have been killed in Russian attacks in the Cherson region, according to Ukrainian sources. According to President Zelenskyy, Ukraine will soon begin its counter-offensive.