Kremlin Says It Doesn’t Believe Ukrainian Denial of Attacks on Russia

A Ukrainian serviceman operates a drone as the sounds of shelling continue in Bakhmut on February 27, 2023, amid Russia's military invasion on Ukraine. (AFP)
A Ukrainian serviceman operates a drone as the sounds of shelling continue in Bakhmut on February 27, 2023, amid Russia's military invasion on Ukraine. (AFP)
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Kremlin Says It Doesn’t Believe Ukrainian Denial of Attacks on Russia

A Ukrainian serviceman operates a drone as the sounds of shelling continue in Bakhmut on February 27, 2023, amid Russia's military invasion on Ukraine. (AFP)
A Ukrainian serviceman operates a drone as the sounds of shelling continue in Bakhmut on February 27, 2023, amid Russia's military invasion on Ukraine. (AFP)

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it did not believe a statement by Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak that Ukraine does not launch attacks against targets on Russian territory.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking a day after Russian officials blamed Ukraine for several attempted drone strikes, the latest of many inside Russian territory for which Ukraine has not publicly claimed responsibility.

Podolyak said in a tweet earlier on Wednesday that Ukraine "doesn't strike at RF's (Russian Federation's) territory" and "is waging a defensive war to deoccupy all its territories".

He added: "Panic & disintegration processes are building up in RF, reflected by an increase in internal attacks on infrastructure facilities by unidentified flying objects." His comment prompted a string of jokes on Twitter about alien activity.

Asked about Podolyak's denial of Ukrainian attacks, Peskov said: "We don't believe him."

On Tuesday, a drone crashed near a natural gas pumping station southeast of Moscow in an apparent failed attack 110 km (68 miles) from the center of the Russian capital, the regional governor said.

The defense ministry said on Wednesday its forces had repelled what it described as a massive drone attack on Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, a day after accusing Kyiv of launching failed drone attacks on two southern Russian regions.

In December, Russia said six of its military personnel were killed in what it said were Ukrainian drone attacks on air bases deep inside Russian territory, including one base where Russian strategic nuclear bombers are stationed.



Trump Orders Reopening of Infamous US Prison Alcatraz

FILE - Fog lingers behind Alcatraz Island, July 1, 2015, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
FILE - Fog lingers behind Alcatraz Island, July 1, 2015, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
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Trump Orders Reopening of Infamous US Prison Alcatraz

FILE - Fog lingers behind Alcatraz Island, July 1, 2015, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
FILE - Fog lingers behind Alcatraz Island, July 1, 2015, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

US President Donald Trump said he had directed officials to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz prison, the notorious federal jail based on a small island in California that shuttered six decades ago.

The jail will house “America's most ruthless and violent Offenders,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that the institution will be “substantially enlarged.”

Alcatraz closed in 1963 due to high operating costs after being open for just 29 years, according to the US Bureau of Prisons, and now serves as a tourist attraction.

Located two kilometers off the coast of San Francisco and with a capacity of just 336 prisoners, it held several well-known criminals, including Prohibition-era mob boss Al Capone, and saw many fantastical escape attempts by inmates.

Trump has made cracking down on crimes a key element of his second term in the White House.

“When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That's the way it's supposed to be,” Trump wrote.

“No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets,” he added.

The US president told reporters as he returned to the White House from Florida, that reopening the prison was “Just an idea I've had” and decided to act on.

“It's a symbol of law and order,” he said.