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Saudi media said Ambassador Vladimir Dedushkin was assassinated in the capital Sanaa.

But some reports have since claimed Mr Dedushkin has not died.

The Russian Embassy in Yemen has reportedly said “no one’s been shot”, telling NBC no one had been attacked.

A Russian official quoted in Zvezda, a Russian nationwide TV station run by the Ministry of Defence, has denied the reports of an assassination attempt.

The Washington Post said that it had spoken to a duty officer at the embassy in the Yemen and he had denied there had been any attack and said the ambassador was fine.

A Spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said that they had made contact with the Ambassador and said the initial reports were false.