Trump says that Ukraine didn't target Putin residence in drone strike as Kremlin claims
Aboard Air Force One (AP): President Donald Trump on Sunday told reporters that US officials have determined that Ukraine did not target a residence belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a drone attack last week, disputing Kremlin claims that Trump had initially greeted with deep concern.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week said Ukraine launched a wave of drones at Putin's state residence in the northwestern Novgorod region that the Russian defence systems were able to defeat. Lavrov also criticised Kyiv for launching the attack at a moment of intensive negotiations to end the war.
The allegation came just a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had travelled to Florida for talks with Trump on the US administration's still-evolving 20-point plan aimed at ending the war. Zelenskyy quickly denied the Kremlin's allegation.
Trump said that “something happened nearby” Putin's residence, but that American officials didn't find that the Russian president's residence was targeted.
“I don't believe that strike happened," Trump told reporters as he travelled back to Washington on Sunday after spending two weeks at his home in Florida. “We don't believe that happened, now that we've been able to check.”
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Trump addressed the US determination after European officials argued that the Russian claim was nothing more than an effort by Moscow to undermine the peace effort.
But Trump, at least initially, had appeared to take the Russian allegations at face value. He told reporters last Monday that Putin had also raised the matter during a phone call he had with the Russian leader earlier that day. And Trump said he was “very angry” about the accusation.
By Wednesday, Trump appeared to be downplaying the Russian claim. He posted a link to a New York Post editorial on his social media platform that raised doubt about the Russian allegation. The editorial lambasted Putin for choosing "lies, hatred, and death” at a moment that Trump has claimed is “closer than ever before” to moving the two sides to a deal to end the war.
The US president has struggled to fulfil a pledge to quickly end the war in Ukraine and has shown irritation with both Zelenskyy and Putin as he tried to mediate an end to a conflict he boasted on the campaign trail that he could end in one day.
Both Trump and Zelenskyy said last week they made progress in their talks at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
But Putin has shown little interest in ending the war until all of Russia's objectives are met, including winning control of all Ukrainian territory in the key industrial Donbas region and imposing severe restrictions on the size of Ukraine's post-war military and the type of weaponry it can possess.
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Bengaluru: CCB police busts black marketing of IPL tickets, 11 arrested
Bengaluru: The Central Crime Branch (CCB) police have arrested 11 people, including one from Madhya Pradesh, for allegedly selling tickets in black for the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings held at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 5.
According to police, a total of 28 tickets worth Rs 4.5 lakh and eight mobile phones were seized from the accused.
Acting on tipoff that match tickets were being sold at double the original price within the limits of Cubbon Park and Chamarajpet police stations, the CCB police conducted a raid ahead of the match, sources said.
A total of seven cases have been registered in connection with the incident.
Under the jurisdiction of Cubbon Park police station, 10 accused were arrested. Police seized seven mobile phones, 18 IPL tickets of various denominations, and WhatsApp screenshots allegedly used for online ticket sales.
In a separate action under the Chamarajpet police station limits, one person was arrested for selling IPL tickets at increased prices. Police recovered 10 tickets, one mobile phone, and WhatsApp screenshots from the accused, CCB sources added.
