Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday responded to the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump by suggesting it was a natural consequence of U.S. support for Ukraine against Russian aggression.
Asked what the Kremlin thought about the incident, Peskov said: snap“It's not us who should be thinking, it's the US intelligence agencies who should be thinking.”
“Either way, playing with fire has consequences,” he added.
Peskov was referring to evidence that Ryan Wesley Routh, who is widely identified as the suspect in the second assassination attempt on Trump, is an ardent supporter of Ukraine and may have plotted to kill Trump because he believed U.S. support for Ukraine would decrease under a second Trump administration.
Routh, 58, Interview Ukraine Activities The New York Times The New York Times reported last year that Rouse traveled to Washington to meet with the U.S. Committee on Security and Cooperation in Europe (also known as the Helsinki Committee) to pressure Congress to increase funding for Ukraine's war effort.
Routh appears to have made social media posts volunteering to fight for Ukraine and threatening violent retaliation against anyone who disagrees.
“I came from Hawaii to Ukraine to fight for your children and your families and for democracy… I am willing to come and die for you,” he allegedly said. said In one social media post, he reportedly said he applied to volunteer in the Ukrainian military in late 2022 but was turned down due to his age and lack of military experience.
“Many other conflicts are grey, but this one is definitely black and white. It's good versus evil,” he said. said In a June 2022 interview Newsweek Romania, He was ostensibly in Kiev trying to recruit other foreigners to volunteer for the Ukrainian army.
The International Unit of the Defense Intelligence Corps of Ukraine, made up of foreign volunteers, statement He said on Monday that Routh had “no affiliation with the unit” and that “the rumours circulating in some media outlets are not true.”
Ukraine's Azov Brigades have long been accused of Nazi sympathies. Denied Social media videos claiming the suspected shooter attended a 2022 public event in support of the brigade denied any links to Mr Routh.
“We believe that the spread of the story about a possible connection between Azov and Ryan Wesley Routh is in line with Russian propaganda,” the Azov Brigades said.
Ukraine's Counter-Disinformation Center also said Monday that the assassination attempt on Trump has become a “Russian propaganda topic.”
Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia was “monitoring” the situation in the United States.
“We can see how tense the situation is on the ground, including tensions between political rivals. The political struggle is intensifying and various means are being used,” he said.
