Russia claimed on Monday that Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack targeting an official residence of President Vladimir Putin in the Novgorod region with 91 long-range drones and that all of them were intercepted and shot down. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky strongly rejected the accusation made by Kremlin Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Zelensky accused Moscow of fabricating the claim as a pretext for potential strikes on Kyiv following Zelensky's meeting with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday. "Russia is at it again, using dangerous statements to undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump's team. We keep working together to bring peace closer," Zelensky wrote on X.
Wild Claims Against Ukraine
"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," Zelensky added.
Lavrov said Russia would reassess its stance in negotiations aimed at ending its nearly four-year-long war in Ukraine following the overnight attack. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
"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," Zelensky insisted.
"It is critical that the world doesn't stay silent now. We cannot allow Russia to undermine the work on achieving a lasting peace."
Details About Putin's Presence Unclear
It was not immediately clear whether Putin was at the residence when the incident took place. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had spoken with the Russian president for the second time in two days, but it was not clear if the alleged attack came up during their conversation.
The Novgorod region lies in northwestern Russia, about midway between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The number of official residences Putin actually has is tightly guarded information. In 2012, critics of the Russian leader released a report alleging that he personally owned around 20 palaces and villas, with nearly half of them constructed after he came to power in 2000.
One of the report's authors, former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, was shot dead in Moscow in February 2015. Five men from Chechnya were later convicted of carrying out the contract killing in 2017, but authorities have never revealed who ordered the hit or where that person might be.
