Russia says Ukrainian drone attack targeted one of Putin’s residences, a claim rejected by Kyiv
By Issy Ronald, Darya Tarasova, Daria Tarasova-Markina, Lauren Kent
(CNN) — Russia’s foreign minister alleged that a Ukrainian drone attack targeted one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences on Monday, a claim that was immediately rejected by Kyiv.
As a result of the alleged attack in the Novgorod region, Sergey Lavrov said “Russia’s negotiating position will be revised” in the ongoing peace talks seeking to end Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Lavrov said no damage or casualties resulted from the incident but that the Russian military has selected targets for “retaliatory strikes.”
He appeared to be referring to the heavily fortified Valdai presidential residence, which is situated on the shores of Lake Valdai in Novgorod Oblast in northwestern Russia. Lavrov did not claim that Putin was in Novgorod at the time.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately rejected the claimed drone attack as “a complete fabrication” from Russia.
Zelensky pointed out that the claim came a day after he met with US President Donald Trump for almost three hours in Florida.
Although the talks did not yield a major breakthrough, the two leaders agreed in the latest version of the peace plan that the US would guarantee Ukrainian security for 15 years, with an option to extend those guarantees, Zelensky said earlier Monday.
“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 posted on X.
“Although the Russians are spreading fakes to justify their strikes on Ukraine and the further prolongation of this war, the world’s key intelligence services must have the real information,” Zelensky added in another X post, following conversations with European leaders later on Monday.
Lavrov also said Russian air defenses shot down 91 drones. He also said Russia does not intend to withdraw from negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha echoed Zelensky’s comments and urged the world to “condemn the provocative Russian statements aimed at derailing the constructive peace process.”
In a post on X, Sybiha said Ukraine strikes only legitimate military targets in the Russian territory. The “fabricated” Russian claims regarding an alleged attack on Putin’s residence were only made as a “pretext and false justification for Russia’s further attacks against Ukraine,” he wrote.
Putin informed Trump about the alleged drone attack in a call between the two leaders on Monday, and he told the White House that Russia is reviewing its position on peace negotiations as a result, according to Russian state radio, citing a call with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.
Ushakov claimed that Trump was “shocked” and “outraged” by the report he received from Putin, Russian state radio reported.
Asked by CNN for comment on the alleged attack, the White House reissued a previous statement saying that Trump earlier Monday “concluded a positive call with President Putin concerning Ukraine.” The statement did not provide a readout of the call.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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CNN’s Alayna Treene contributed to this report.
