Allies Can Verify Alleged Putin Home Attack Was Fake : Zelensky

31st December 2025 at 12:42 PM

2 minutes read

Ukraine said Tuesday there was no "plausible" evidence it launched a drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's residences, accusing Moscow of peddling falsehoods to manipulate talks on ending the war.

New Delhi : Ukraine said Tuesday there was no “plausible” evidence it launched a drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences, accusing Moscow of peddling falsehoods to manipulate talks on ending the war. A French presidential source said the Kremlin’s statements were not backed by any solid proof, including after cross-checking information with our partners.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has called Russia’s claim a complete fabrication”, said he would meet with leaders of Kyiv’s allies on January 6 in France in a bid to renew peace efforts. Our negotiating team connected with the American team, they went through the details, and we understand that it’s fake, he said.

The Kremlin said Tuesday it considered the alleged drone attack on Putin’s secluded residence in the Novgorod region to be a “terrorist act” and a “personal attack against Putin”. But it said it could not provide evidence for its claim as the drones were “all shot down”. It also said the Russian army had chosen “how, when and where” to retaliate against Ukraine, and that Moscow would now “toughen” its negotiating position in talks to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War Two.

Russia has hit Ukraine with an almost daily barrage of drones and missiles for almost four years, killing thousands. European leaders rallied around Ukraine following Moscow’s allegation. Zelensky said a summit of the so-called “coalition of the willing” — a group of Western countries that have pledged further support for Ukraine — would take place on January 6 in France. The summit would be preceded by a meeting of security advisors from the allied countries, Zelensky said on X, adding: “We are planning it for January 3 in Ukraine.”

Germany’s Merz said on social media that Kyiv’s allies were “moving the peace process forward. Transparency and honesty are now required from everyone — including Russia.” But US President Donald Trump — who spoke to Putin on Monday — directed criticism at Kyiv on Monday, despite Ukraine calling the incident staged. “You know who told me about it? President Putin, early in the morning, he said he was attacked. It’s no good,” Trump said.

The longtime Russian leader’s residences are shrouded in secrecy in Russia — as is much of his private life. The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last year, had published investigations into Putin’s luxury lakeside residence in the Novgorod region. Putin had been increasingly using the residence since the Ukraine war began, as it is more secluded and better protected by air defence installations, according to an investigation by RFE/RL.