Ukrainian and EU officials denied an alleged attack on President Vladimir Putin’s residence

Ukrainian and European officials rejected Moscow’s claims that Ukraine targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal residence with a drone this week. The incident threatens to disrupt U.S.-led peace talks as the new year approaches. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed on Monday that Ukraine attempted to attack Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region with dozens of drones, adding that Moscow would therefore review its negotiating position. According to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, U.S. national security officials determined that Ukraine had not targeted Putin or any of his residences with a drone. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. 

The newspaper said the conclusion was supported by a CIA assessment that found no evidence of any attempt to target Putin or any of his residences. A CIA spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Ukraine was “10 percent” away from a peace agreement and that his country wanted to end the war, but not “at any cost.” In his New Year’s Eve speech, he stated that any agreement would need strong security guarantees. “The peace agreement is 90 percent ready; 10 percent remains. And that is much more than just numbers.” 

Russian leader Vladimir Putin is pushing to secure full control of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine as part of any agreement, while Zelenskyy said he does not believe Russia would stop there. “Withdraw from Donbas and everything will be over — when translated from Russian into Ukrainian, English, German, French, or any language in the world, that is what the lie sounds like.” 

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Putin had informed him about the alleged incident and that he was “very angry” about it, initially expressing sympathy for Russia’s accusation. By Wednesday, however, he had adopted a more skeptical tone and shared on social media a New York Post editorial accusing Russia of obstructing peace in Ukraine. 

A source familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump reshared the article after being briefed by CIA Director John Ratcliffe about Putin’s claims. The source declined to disclose details of the briefing. 

UKRAINE SAYS RUSSIA IS TRYING TO SABOTAGE AGREEMENTS 

Ukraine denied carrying out such an attack, describing the allegation as a Russian disinformation campaign aimed at sowing discord between Kyiv and Washington following what both sides characterized as a sincere and productive meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

In a detailed briefing document distributed to European Union delegations on Tuesday and seen by Reuters, Kyiv argued that Russia’s claims were designed to “sabotage” the agreements reached during the Trump–Zelenskyy meeting in South Florida. 

On Wednesday, the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, described Russia’s claims as a “deliberate distraction tactic.” 

“No one should accept the baseless claims of an aggressor who has been indiscriminately targeting Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians since the beginning of the war,” she wrote on platform X. 

As of Wednesday, there was no independent confirmation of the alleged attack. However, Russia’s accusations and the responses from Europe and Ukraine highlighted how both sides are trying to shape Trump’s view of the nearly four-year war in Ukraine. 

Former U.S. ambassador to NATO and Trump’s first-term special envoy for Ukraine negotiations, Kurt Volker, said there was “no evidence whatsoever” that Putin was seeking peace or wanted Ukraine to succeed, as Trump claimed after his recent meeting with the Russian leader. “All the evidence shows exactly the opposite,” he added. 

The Russian and Ukrainian embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The White House also did not comment immediately. 

RUSSIA RELEASES VIDEO SHOWING DOWNED DRONE 

On Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry released video footage in which Major General Alexander Romanenkov, a senior officer, outlined Moscow’s view of how Ukraine allegedly attacked Putin’s residence in Novgorod. 

The video showed a Russian soldier standing next to parts of a downed Ukrainian-made Chaklun-V drone carrying six kilograms of explosives that had not detonated. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the footage, saying it was “absolutely certain” that no such attack had occurred. 

Before Lavrov made the accusation on Monday, Novgorod Governor Alexander Dronov said air defenses and fighter aircraft had shot down Ukrainian drones. 

Although Trump said on Monday the attack could be a Russian false-flag operation, he has at times appeared ready to take Putin’s controversial statements at face value. Earlier this year, Trump repeated Putin’s claims that Russian forces had encircled Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region, despite U.S. intelligence stating this was untrue. 

The debate over the alleged attack came as some Western intelligence officials quietly suggested that Russia might be trying to delay additional punitive measures that Washington designed to push Moscow toward a peace agreement. Reuters was unable to determine whether the U.S. intelligence community had conducted an assessment of the alleged attack or presented any related findings to Congress. 

UKRAINE CLAIMS OFFICIALS COORDINATED STATEMENTS 

In the Ukrainian briefing document seen by Reuters, Kyiv said that in the hours after the alleged attack, several Russian officials made highly similar public statements, which in Ukraine’s view indicated prior coordination among authorities in Moscow. 

The document also noted that residents of a town near Putin’s residence in Novgorod told local media they had not heard any sounds from air defense systems on the night of the alleged attack. 

Russia’s Defense Ministry issued inconsistent statements about the alleged Ukrainian drone attacks. Late on Sunday, it said via Telegram that between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. the previous day, Russian forces had intercepted 89 long-range Ukrainian attack drones nationwide. The statement said 18 of them were shot down over the Novgorod region but did not link any of them to an alleged attack on Putin’s residence there. 

On Monday afternoon, the ministry issued a second statement saying air defenses had intercepted 91 drones targeting Putin’s residence between Saturday and Sunday, 41 of which were shot down over Novgorod. 

REFERENCE 

Slattery, G., & Landay, J. (2025, December 31). Ukraine, EU officials dismiss alleged attack on Putin residence. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-eu-officials-dismiss-alleged-attack-putin-residence-2025-12-31/ 

Murray, W., & agencies. (2026, January 1). Ukraine war briefing: 10% away from peace, Zelenskyy tells Ukrainians. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/01/ukraine-war-briefing-10-away-from-peace-zelenskyy-tells-ukrainians