Russian drones targeted objects related to the President of Ukraine several times a week. On September 9 and 14, Russian drones entered Moldovan airspace while V. Zelensky was flying over Chișinău.
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On the night of September 14, Russian sources reported an attack on the 95th quarter in the president’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih. On September 16, during an attack on Kyiv, the warehouse of the company “Kvartal 95” founded by V. Zelensky and the warehouse of the First Lady Olena Zelenska’s charity foundation were destroyed.
Flew to Norway – two drones appeared
The first episode occurred on September 9, when V. Zelensky was traveling through Chișinău to Norway. Before his plane took off, Moldova temporarily closed its airspace after two Russian drones appeared. As a result, the Ukrainian president’s flight was delayed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the threat “ephemeral” and stated that it “did not exist.”
On the return flight on September 14, one or two Russian drones also entered Moldovan airspace, the Ukrainian president said. Moldovan authorities indicated that two drones were over the country’s territory for about 10 minutes. V. Zelensky assessed these episodes as part of Russia’s strategy to intimidate him and other foreign leaders.
On the night of September 14, Russian drones attacked Kryvyi Rih. Some sources covering Russian military topics wrote that the strike hit the 95th quarter, near which V. Zelensky’s family lived. One of the first major “Z” channels, “Ostashko! Vazhnoe,” citing unnamed war correspondents, reported that drones “flew into the 95th quarter,” calling it “Zelensky’s birthplace.” Later, this news was reprinted by some other publications.
Ukrainian authorities confirmed the Russian strike itself but not the hit on the 95th quarter. The acting head of the Kryvyi Rih district military administration, Vitaliy Shpak, reported that Russian drones attacked Kryvyi Rih and “targeted infrastructure.” The authorities did not specify the exact object or district.
Attacked a place important to Zelensky
Finally, on the morning of September 16, the “Kvartal 95” studio reported that its warehouse was destroyed – decorations, costumes, and props accumulated over about 20 years burned down. Olena Zelenska’s foundation stated that their humanitarian aid warehouse was completely burned down, containing generators, medical equipment, household appliances, laptops, and tablets, writes “Agentstvo.”
Officially, Russia did not link these strikes to V. Zelensky. The Russian Ministry of Defense, describing the September 16 attack on Kyiv, stated that the target was the “Kyiv motor transport company,” which, according to the ministry, produced specialized vehicles for the Ukrainian armed forces.
Meanwhile, Russian military propaganda sources, on the contrary, emphasized the connection of the strikes with V. Zelensky. “EADaily” published the phrase “A black day for the Zelensky couple” in the headline. “Ostashko! Vazhnoe” called the destruction of the studio’s props a strike “against what is sacred to Zelensky,” the channel “Dva majora” called it “the destruction of one of the main symbols of modern Ukrainian statehood,” and “Svodki opolcheniya Novorosiji” called it a “below-the-belt strike” against V. Zelensky.
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