Russia and Ukraine continued exchanging accusations Tuesday following Russian claims that an alleged drone attack targeted one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residences. Ukraine firmly rejected the allegation, calling it false, while the Kremlin stated that its military was prepared to respond. The competing accounts have unfolded against the backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, with both sides accusing the other of undermining those talks.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, alleged Monday that Ukraine had launched 91 drones at one of Putin’s official residences in the Novgorod region, an area situated between Moscow and St. Petersburg. According to Lavrov, the drones were launched between Sunday night and Monday morning and were intercepted by Russian air defenses. He stated that no casualties were reported as a result of the alleged incident. Lavrov did not specify whether Vladimir Putin was present at the residence at the time and provided no additional operational details regarding the claim.
Ukraine categorically denied any involvement in such an attack and accused Moscow of fabricating the incident to disrupt ongoing diplomatic efforts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded publicly on X, stating, “Russia is at it again, using dangerous statements to undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump’s team.” He further added, “This alleged ‘residence strike’ story is a complete fabrication intended to justify additional attacks against Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well as Russia’s own refusal to take necessary steps to end the war. Typical Russian lies.”
Russian state media reported that Putin held a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump following the alleged incident. According to those reports, Putin told Trump that Russia would “revise its stance” in ongoing peace negotiations intended to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. The allegation emerged just one day after Zelenskyy and Trump met in person at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where both leaders said progress had been made on a 20-point peace plan and potential security guarantees for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy reiterated Monday that Ukraine was not acting in ways that would derail diplomatic efforts, contrasting Kyiv’s approach with Moscow’s actions. “Ukraine does not take steps that can undermine diplomacy. To the contrary, Russia always takes such steps. This is one of many differences between us,” he said. On Tuesday, the Kremlin acknowledged Zelenskyy’s denial of the alleged attack and accused Western media outlets of “playing along with Ukraine.” When questioned about whether Russia would provide evidence to support its claims, Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said that such matters fell under the responsibility of the military.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, also addressed the issue on X, noting that Russia had failed to present any evidence. “Almost a day passed and Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence to its accusations of Ukraine’s alleged ‘attack on Putin’s residence.’ And they won’t. Because there’s none. No such attack happened,” Sybiha wrote.
