PM Shehbaz condemns reported targeting of Russian President Putin’s residence

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned the reported targeting of the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a post on his X handle, PM Shehbaz on Tuesday said such a heinous act constitutes a grave threat to peace, security and stability, particularly at a time when efforts aimed at peace are underway.

He said Pakistan expresses its solidarity with the president of the Russian Federation, and with the government and people of Russia.

The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s firm rejection of all forms of violence and acts intended to undermine security and threaten peace.

The statement comes a day after Russia accused Ukraine of trying to attack President Putin’s residence in northern Russia, although it provided no evidence to back up an assertion that Kyiv dismissed as baseless and designed to undermine peace negotiations.

Peace hopes dented as Russia says Ukraine tried to attack Putin residence

The angry exchanges - including a statement by Russia that it was reviewing its stance in negotiations in response to the attack - dealt a new blow to prospects for peace in Ukraine. On Sunday US President Donald Trump met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida and said they were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war, although “thorny” territorial issues remained, Reuters reported.

Putin also struck a defiant tone on Monday, telling his army to press on with a campaign to take full control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, and the Kremlin repeated demands for Kyiv to pull its forces out of the last part of the Donbas area that they still hold in eastern Ukraine.

Putin told Trump by phone that Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, was reviewing its stance following the reported drone attack, an aide said.

Putin says Russia will achieve its Ukraine aims by force if Kyiv doesn’t want peace