In the waning days of 2025, a dramatic international dispute erupted after Russia accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on President Vladimir Putin’s official residence in the Novgorod region. The allegation, made public on December 29, was immediately dismissed by Ukrainian officials as a fabrication, and the fallout has rippled through diplomatic channels, peace negotiations, and the global media.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was the first to allege that a Ukrainian drone strike had targeted Putin’s state residence during the night of December 29. Lavrov, however, provided no physical evidence to substantiate his claim. Within hours, the Russian narrative was amplified by Dmitry Medvedev—former president, prime minister, and now a Security Council member—who issued a personal threat against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Medvedev posted on X, accusing Zelenskyy of “trying to derail the settlement of the conflict,” and ominously warned, “He wants war. Well, now at least he’ll have to stay in hiding for the rest of his worthless life.” In a separate post, Medvedev went further, suggesting that Zelenskyy should be “exhibited” in St. Petersburg after his “imminent demise.” Kremlin aide Kiril Dmitriev also joined the fray, questioning Zelenskyy’s future in a post to X.
The Kremlin’s narrative quickly drew in the United States. Russian officials claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump was informed of the alleged attack during a phone call with Putin on December 30. According to ABC News, Trump expressed both surprise and anger at the news, telling reporters at Mar-a-Lago, “President Putin called me about it early in the morning. He said he was attacked. It’s no good. It’s no good.” Trump also referenced his own restraint, noting, “I stopped the Tomahawks. I didn’t want that. It’s one thing to be offensive because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that.” However, Trump later admitted, “You’re saying maybe the attack didn’t take place—that’s possible too, I guess. But President Putin told me this morning it did.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was swift and unequivocal in his denial. “Now, with their statement that some residence of theirs was attacked, they are simply preparing—I am sure—preparing the ground, in principle, to launch strikes, probably on the capital and, probably, on state buildings,” Zelenskyy stated. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha echoed this, writing on X, “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.”
As the war of words escalated, Russia released a video on December 31, purporting to show the remains of a downed Ukrainian drone—a Chaklun-V model, allegedly carrying a 6-kg explosive device that had failed to detonate. Major-General Alexander Romanenkov, in a briefing, claimed that 91 drones had been launched from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions in a “thoroughly planned” attack, all of which were thwarted by Russian air defenses, causing no damage or injuries. The video showed a serviceman standing next to drone fragments, but the Russian defense ministry did not explain how it determined the drone’s intended target was Putin’s residence. Reuters noted that the footage’s location and date could not be independently verified, and a local resident merely reported hearing air defense rockets.
Ukraine’s response to the Russian video was scathing. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi told Reuters, “This is laughable, both the fact that it took them two days to produce this, and the fact that the things they try to present as evidence basically shows that they are not serious even about fabricating the story. We are absolutely confident that no such attack took place.”
Western skepticism quickly mounted. According to NBC News, a CIA assessment concluded that Ukraine had not tried to kill Putin or attack his residence, instead aiming for a military target in the same region. CIA Director John Ratcliffe briefed President Trump on the agency’s findings on January 1, 2026. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the briefing, and U.S. and European officials agreed that the Russian claims were unfounded. Trump, after initially expressing anger at the alleged attack, reposted a New York Post editorial with the headline “Putin ‘attack’ bluster shows Russia is the one standing in the way of peace.”
In his New Year’s Eve address, Zelenskyy reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to peace, telling citizens that a peace agreement was “90% ready, 10% remains. And that is far more than just numbers.” He emphasized that Ukraine wanted peace, but “not at any cost,” and would not sign a weak deal that could simply prolong the conflict. “Are we tired? Very. Does this mean we are ready to surrender? Anyone who thinks so is deeply mistaken,” Zelenskyy declared.
European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, announced plans for a January 6 meeting in Paris to make firm commitments toward protecting Ukraine after any peace deal. Meanwhile, the fighting continued: on January 1, Ukrainian drones struck the Temp oil depot in Rybinsk, Russia, sparking a large fire, while a Russian drone attack hit Odesa, injuring six people—including children—and damaging apartment buildings and energy facilities.
Despite the heated rhetoric, the alleged drone attack on Putin’s residence appears to have had little effect on the progress of peace talks. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the incident would lead to a “hardening of the Russian Federation’s negotiating position,” but insisted that “Russia is not withdrawing from the negotiation process.” Lavrov, for his part, said that “the targets and timing of Russia’s retaliatory strike” had “been determined.”
Throughout the ordeal, a pattern emerged: Russian officials made nearly identical, coordinated public statements in the hours after the alleged attack, according to a Ukrainian briefing paper cited by Reuters. Residents near Putin’s Novgorod residence reported hearing no air defenses on the night in question, further fueling doubts about the Kremlin’s version of events. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, dismissed Russia’s claims as “a deliberate distraction,” urging the world not to accept “unfounded claims from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians since the start of the war.”
The controversy underscores the deep mistrust and information warfare that have defined the conflict since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As both sides prepare for further negotiations, the world watches closely, keenly aware that in this war, the battle for truth is as fierce as the fighting on the ground.
