Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed a "strong response" to the attempted assassination of his first advisor, Sergei Scheffer, with automatic weapons. Moscow immediately denied its involvement in the attack, while Washington and London condemned him.
Shaffer's car, 57, was attacked Wednesday morning by unknown assailants near the village of Lysniki in the Kiev metropolitan region.
Scheffer, an old friend and partner of Zelensky, survived the attack, but his driver was injured and treated.
While in New York to participate in the United Nations General Assembly, Zelensky promised in a video a "strong response", indicating that he did not know who ordered the operation.
The Ukrainian president vowed to continue his fight "against crime and powerful financial groups," a reference to his promise to fight the influence of businessmen.
As for Scheffer, he said in a press conference held at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior that the attack came as an attempt to intimidate the president, adding, "Volodymyr Zelensky is a person of firm will and is not afraid. He has chosen the right path and will take it."
Another presidential adviser, Mikhailo Podolyak, told Interfax-Ukraine that he "clearly links" the attack to a "hostile campaign against the policy of the head of state," referring to Zelensky's efforts to limit the influence of influential figures and financial groups operating in the shadows for opponents abroad, according to the report. his expression.
The Ukrainian president pledges to continue his fight against crime and powerful financial groups (Reuters - Archive)
Hint for Russia
On the other hand, police chief Igor Klimenko said that "3 main hypotheses" were under study, namely that the attack was aimed at "official tasks" of Scheffer, or an attempt to pressure Ukrainian leaders, or an attempt to destabilize the country.
In the latter case, he said, "the participation of foreign special services" in the attack was a possibility, likely referring to Russia.
On the other hand, Moscow immediately denied any role, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov considered that these accusations "have nothing to do with the real reality of things."
In turn, the US embassy in Kiev said on Twitter that "criminal violence, including for political purposes, can never be justified."
The British Ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, also expressed her "deep concern", in a tweet.
Zelensky had promised before taking office in 2019 to change and fight corruption, but so far he has not achieved tangible results.
Several assassination attempts have targeted politicians and journalists in Ukraine for years, and the country has been witnessing a war since 2014 with pro-Russian separatists in the Crimea.