Russia dismisses Zelenskyy's 'bomb shelter' threats to Kremlin officials

The Kremlin on Sunday dismissed warnings from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russian officials should familiarise themselves with bomb shelters, saying Kyiv was losing the conflict and that its negotiating position was weakening.

In an interview with Axios, Zelenskyy suggested that centres of Russian power, including the Kremlin itself, could be potential targets, remarking that officials there “have to know where the bomb shelters are.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television: “Zelenskyy is trying to show Europeans, who are effectively bankrolling him, that he is such a brave soldier. Meanwhile, the situation on the front shows the opposite. With each passing day, the position of Ukraine is inexorably worsening, and its negotiating stance is inexorably deteriorating.”

Russia currently controls 114,918 square kilometres — around 19% of Ukrainian territory — and has gained a further 4,729 square kilometres over the past year, according to the pro-Ukrainian DeepState mapping project.

When asked directly by state television correspondent Pavel Zarubin how Moscow would respond to an attack on the Kremlin, Peskov said, “It is better not to even talk about it.”

In May 2023, Russia accused Ukraine of attempting to strike the Kremlin with drones. President Vladimir Putin was not in the building at the time.

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