Kremlin responds as Ukrainian official threatens to assassinate President Putin

"A terrorist regime talks about its terrorist ambitions," Mr. Peskov commented on Rossiya 24 on May 25.

The Kremlin spokesman's comments came after Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Vadim Skibitsky told German news agency Die Welt on May 24 that President Putin was on the agency's hit list.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP

Mr. Peskov said that the above comments showed that Russia's military campaign became "more reasonable and necessary and must be completed".

Asked whether President Putin's security had been stepped up following the threat from Kiev, Mr Peskov replied: "Believe me, our security agencies know their job and what they are doing."

In an interview, Mr. Skibitsky said that President Putin "has noticed that we are getting closer to him," but also admitted that so far, Ukrainian agents have not been able to reach the Russian leader. The Ukrainian intelligence official also said that GUR is trying to assassinate the head of the private military company Wagner Evgeny Prighozhin, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov.

In early May, two small drones were neutralized by Russian air defense systems as they attempted to attack President Putin’s residence in Moscow. The Russian leader was not there at the time of the attack and no one was injured. Although Ukrainian authorities denied involvement, Moscow called the incident a “premeditated terrorist act” and an attempt to assassinate the Russian president.

The Kremlin said Russia would respond to the attack "wherever and whenever necessary", while senior Russian lawmaker Vyacheslav Volodin called for the use of "weapons that can stop and destroy the Kiev government".