Russia dismisses Zelensky’s ‘bomb shelter’ threats to Kremlin officials

MOSCOW – The Kremlin on Sept 28 dismissed threats by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Kremlin officials should know where the bomb shelters were, saying that Ukraine was losing the war and that its negotiating position was worsening.

Mr Zelensky suggested to news outlet Axios that the centres of Russian power, like the Kremlin, were potential targets, saying that Kremlin officials “have to know where the bomb shelters are”.

“Zelensky is trying to demonstrate to the Europeans, who now act as the breadwinners, that he is such a brave soldier,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television.

“Meanwhile, the state of affairs at the front indicates the opposite. With every passing day, the situation for Ukraine is inexorably deteriorating.

“And every day, Ukraine’s negotiating positions are inexorably deteriorating.”

Russia controls 114,918 sq km, or about 19 per cent of Ukraine, and has taken 4,729 sq km of Ukrainian territory in the past year, according to the pro-Ukrainian DeepState map project.

When asked directly by state television’s Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin on how the Kremlin would perceive an attack on the centre of Russian power, Mr Peskov said that “it’s better not to even talk about it”.

In May 2023, Russia accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kremlin with drones. Russian President Vladimir Putin was not in the Kremlin at the time of the attack. REUTERS