Kremlin says Trump did not send Putin an invitation to attend his inauguration

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Kremlin on Thursday said that US President-elect Donald Trump did not send Russian President Vladimir Putin an invitation to attend his inauguration in January.

Speaking to journalists in the Russian capital Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they have not received an invitation extended by Trump.

Peskov’s remarks came as CBS News reported late Wednesday that Trump invited his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to participate in his presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, citing “multiple sources.”

According to the report, sources revealed that Trump extended the invitation to Xi in early November, shortly after the election, but it remains unclear whether the Chinese president has accepted.

The Kremlin spokesman also commented on the Russian Defense Ministry’s claims on Wednesday that it downed six US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles fired by Ukraine, reaffirming that Moscow will respond to the attack.

“I would like to recall the absolutely unambiguous and direct statement of the Russian Defense Ministry, which was made yesterday, where it was clearly stated that a response will follow,” Peskov told journalists.

Peskov further said that this response will come “when and in the way” Moscow deems it appropriate, but that it will “definitely follow.”

On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that it downed six US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles fired by Ukraine at the Taganrog military airfield in the country’s southern Rostov region.

According to the statement, fragments from intercepted missiles caused slight damage to some facilities and vehicles near the airfield, but that there was no major damage.

“This attack by Western-made long-range weapons will not remain unanswered, and appropriate measures will be taken,” the statement added.

On the same day, following a meeting with Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Telegram thanked his country’s soldiers who he said inflicted “tangible blows on Russian targets last night,” including on Russian military facilities, as well as fuel and energy facilities.

However, Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the incident.