“When you strike at a king, you must kill him.” Such is the advice given in a quote often attributed to 19th-century American author Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The obvious reason why is that if you leave the king alive, he will almost certainly seek revenge.
Unfortunately for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, his military reportedly attempted to assassinate Russian strongman Vladimir Putin earlier this week—but failed.
Moscow has claimed that that a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack targeted Vladimir Putin’s helicopter as the Russian leader visited the embattled Kursk region earlier this week.
Russian air defence officer Yury Dashkin said on Sunday that Putin’s helicopter was at the “epicentre of an operation to repel a massive drone attack” on Tuesday, state media RT reports.
An as*assination attempt on President Putin by Ukraine reportedly failed after his helicopter came under a large-scale drone attack.
— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) May 25, 2025
Russian air defense systems engaged the drones and ensured the presidential helicopter continued its flight safely.
Several Ukrainian drones were… pic.twitter.com/2NePVLJXuy
Several Ukrainian drones were destroyed during the operation. The timing of the drone strike suggests Ukrainian forces may have had advanced knowledge of Putin’s visit to the area, which was not publicly revealed.
Putin was visiting the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border, a focal point of the war, which Ukrainian forces had invaded in 2024 only to be repelled. Both sides tell conflicting stories of the current situation on the ground, with Russia claiming the area has been liberated while Ukraine contends that they still have a presence there.
The Ukrainians were nonetheless able to mount a large-scale attack on Putin’s chopper, if we are to believe the Russians (and even if you do, it's always prudent to take whatever they say with a grain of salt):
During his first visit to the Russian region after expelling the Ukrainians, Putin’s helicopter became embroiled in an “unprecedented” drone attack comprised of dozens of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Dashkin claimed.
Claiming the destruction of 46 Ukrainian drones, Dashkin said that the Russian air forces were engaged in anti-aircraft combat and ensure the safety of the president’s helicopter in the air.”
“The task was accomplished. The attack of the enemy drones was repelled, with all aerial targets being hit.”
So much for peace talks..this will not be looked at lightly..
— Chris from Massachusetts AKA TommyboyTrader (@autumnsdad1) May 25, 2025
Ukrainian Drones Target Putin’s Helicopter Over Kursk, Russian Defenses Thwart Attack and shoots them all down..
pic.twitter.com/7QQ50O9vaY
Related: Putin, Trump, Zelenksy and Time: the President Reports on His Call With Russia's President
Zelensky has been (credibly) accusing the Russians of not being serious about peace and increasing their drone assaults. It remains to be seen how the Federation will respond to this reported assassination attempt. At this point, it seems that neither side is particularly serious about ending this god-forsaken war.
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