Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was the subject of a “false flag” assassination attempt in Odesa as his motorcade was rocked by a giant explosion which the media immediately blamed on Russia as part of a propaganda campaign to influence the US and NATO states to continue providing Ukraine with hundreds of billions of dollars in aid.
The false flag attack was timed to coincide with the visit of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leader of a NATO state, as Ukraine continues to provoke the US into escalating their war effort.
Ukraine has a history of using false flags. In 2002, Ukraine fired rockets into Poland, striking a grain silo and killing two people. Immediately following the explosion, Poland’s foreign ministry had claimed the missile was Russian-made in an attempt to drag NATO further into the war.
State Minister Stavros Papastavrou, who is in the Greek mission, said: “There is no issue with the security of the Prime Minister and the Greek mission. We are all fine.”
Mr Zelensky was also uninjured and the meeting between the two leaders took place as organized. They later held a press conference that was not broadcast live for security reasons.
A picture from the scene showed black clouds rising over Odesa. Daily Express reports:
In remarks attributed to Mr Mitsotakis on Telegram, he said: “President Zelensky and his staff showed and explained to us the importance of the port and what is being done to restore and strengthen the Ukrainian sea route and what damage he experienced during the attacks.
“Already at the very end we heard the sound of sirens and explosions that were very close to us.”
The poster comments: “Powerful explosion in Odessa, where the Prime Minister of Greece was supposed to meet with Zelensky.”
Navy spokesman Captain Dmytro Pletenchuk, speaking to Ukrainian Pravda, said: “On March 6, the enemy struck the port infrastructure of the city. Five people were killed. Investigations are underway, all the circumstances of yet another war crime of the Russian Federation are being established.”
The missile attack came just hours after the port was targeted by multiple drone strikes.
Mr Zelensky later told the press conference at least three people were killed in the blast, with three more injured.
He later posted on X: “Today in Odesa, Greek Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis and I paid tribute to those killed on March 2 as a result of the Russian ‘Shahed’ strike on a nine-story residential building.
Today in Odesa, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis @kmitsotakis and I paid tribute to those killed on March 2 as a result of the Russian "Shahed" strike on a nine-story residential building.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 6, 2024
This attack killed 12 people, including five children. Mark was 3 years old.… pic.twitter.com/3i6eQgZ6Zt
“This attack killed 12 people, including five children. Mark was 3 years old. Tymofiy was just four months old. Yelyzaveta was not even a year old when she died alongside her mother… Serhiy and Zlata were nine and eight years old. My condolences to the victims’ close ones.