On Monday, December 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Ukraine attempted to assault Putin’s residence in the northern Novgorod region using numerous drones, stating that Moscow would reassess its negotiating stance in light of this.
US national security officials have determined that Ukraine did not target Putin or his residences with a drone strike, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. Reuters was unable to verify the report immediately.
Read more: What do we know about Russian accusations that Ukraine attacked Putin residence?
The article noted that this conclusion was backed by a CIA assessment indicating no intention to strike Putin or his residences. A spokesperson from the CIA could not be reached for comment immediately.
US President Donald Trump initially indicated support for the Russian claim, telling reporters on Monday that Putin had informed him of the supposed incident and that he was “very angry” about it.
A source close to the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, mentioned that Trump shared the editorial after being briefed by CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The source did not divulge any details regarding Ratcliffe’s briefing.
Ukraine alleges Russia trying to sabotage agreements
Ukraine has denied executing such an attack, labeling the allegation as a Russian disinformation effort intended to create discord between Kyiv and Washington following a meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which both parties described as cordial and productive.
In a comprehensive briefing document disseminated to European Union delegations on Tuesday and seen by Reuters, Kyiv contended that the Russian allegations aimed to “sabotage” agreements made during the meeting in South Florida between Trump and Zelenskiy.
On Wednesday, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s chief diplomat, characterized Russia’s claims as “a deliberate distraction.”
“No one should accept unfounded assertions from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians since the war commenced,” she stated on X.
As of Wednesday, there was no independent confirmation of the attack. However, Russia’s accusations and the reactions from Europe and Ukraine highlight how both sides are attempting to influence Trump’s perceptions of the nearly four-year-long conflict in Ukraine.
“There is no evidence” supporting claims that Putin is seeking peace and desires Ukraine’s success, as Trump suggested last weekend following his conversation with the Russian leader, stated Kurt Volker, a former US ambassador to NATO and special representative for Ukraine negotiations during Trump’s initial term.
“All evidence points in the opposite direction,” he added.
The Russian and Ukrainian embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The White House also had no immediate response.
Russia releases video showing downed drone
On Wednesday, Russia’s defense ministry shared video footage featuring a senior officer, Major General Alexander Romanenkov, outlining how Moscow claims Ukraine assaulted Putin’s Novgorod residence.
The video included clips of a Russian serviceman standing beside remnants of what he asserted was a downed Ukrainian Chaklun-V drone, which was carrying a 6-kg explosive that had not detonated.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry dismissed the footage, asserting it was “absolutely confident” that no attack occurred.
Before Lavrov made his allegation on Monday, Novgorod Governor Alexander Dronov said air defense and fighter aircraft were intercepting Ukrainian drones.
While Trump suggested on Monday that the incident might have been a Russian false flag operation, he has sometimes appeared willing to take controversial statements from Putin at face value.
Earlier this year, Trump repeated Putin’s claims that Russian forces had encircled Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region, even as US intelligence indicated that assertion was inaccurate.
The controversy over the alleged Ukrainian attack coincides with reports that some Western intelligence officials have quietly asserted that Russia has aimed to stall further punitive actions from Washington intended to coerce Moscow into a peace agreement.
Reuters was unable to ascertain whether the U.S. intelligence community has made an assessment of the purported attack or communicated any relevant findings to Congress.
Ukraine alleges officials coordinated comments
In the Ukrainian briefing document reviewed by Reuters, Kyiv emphasized that in the hours following the alleged attack, various Russian officials made remarkably similar public statements which, in Ukraine’s opinion, indicated a pre-arranged coordination among officials in Moscow.
The document also mentioned that residents of a town near Putin’s Novgorod residence told local media they heard no sounds of air defenses during the night of the alleged attack.
The Russian defense ministry provided inconsistent narratives regarding the supposed Ukrainian drone attacks.
In a statement posted late on Sunday on its Telegram channel, the ministry claimed that 89 long-range Ukrainian attack drones were intercepted across the nation between 7 a.m. the previous day and 11 p.m. that evening.
Among those, it stated, 18 were shot down over the Novgorod region, without asserting that any were involved in an attack on Putin’s residence.
On Monday afternoon, the ministry released a second statement claiming its air defenses had intercepted 91 drones bound for Putin’s residence, including 41 shot down over Novgorod, between Saturday and Sunday.
