In this pool photo distributed by the Russian State Department Sputnik, Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Heads of State meeting at the Intimak Ordo (Unity Palace) presidential palace in Bishkek on November 27, 2025.
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Russia and Ukraine continued their exchange on Tuesday over an alleged drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residences.
Ukraine has denied carrying out such an attack, calling it a “complete hoax,” but the Kremlin said its military was ready to retaliate.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed on Monday that Ukraine launched 91 drones at President Vladimir Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region, located between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said the drones, which were said to have been launched between Sunday night and Monday morning, were destroyed by air defenses and no casualties were reported. It is unclear where Putin was at the time of the incident, and Lavrov declined to provide further details.
Ukraine denied the claims and instead accused Moscow of trying to undermine peace talks.
“Russia is at it again, using dangerous rhetoric to undermine all the achievements of the diplomatic efforts we shared with President Trump’s team,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X.
“This story of an alleged ‘settlement attack’ is a complete fabrication aimed at justifying further attacks against Ukraine, including Kiev, and Russia’s own refusal to take the necessary steps to end the war. A typical Russian lie.”
According to Russian state media, Putin called U.S. President Donald Trump after the incident and told him that Russia would “revise its position” in the ongoing peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s claims came a day after President Zelenskiy met directly with President Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where the two leaders said they had made progress on a 20-point peace plan and agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine.
President Zelensky commented on Monday that Russia was trying to undermine peace talks between the United States and Kiev, saying: “Ukraine does not take steps that undermine diplomacy. On the contrary, Russia always takes such steps. This is one of the many differences between the two countries.”
On Tuesday, the Kremlin pointed to Zelensky’s denials, saying Western media were “sympathizing with Ukraine.” Asked whether Russia would provide evidence of the alleged drone attack, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was a military matter.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha commented on Tuesday: “Almost a day has passed, and Russia still has not presented any plausible evidence for the alleged attack on Putin’s presidential palace in Ukraine. And they will not do so, because there is nothing. No such attack has taken place.”
President Trump’s reaction
Russian state media reported that President Trump expressed anger over the alleged attack in a phone conversation with President Putin on Monday.
Kremlin presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Trump was “shocked by this information and literally furious at such reckless action,” according to state news agency TASS. Ushakov added that he said the incident would affect the US approach to cooperation with Zelenskyy.
President Trump was later asked directly for his reaction to the alleged drone attack and appeared to support Russia’s version of events.
“I learned about this from President Putin today, and I was very angry about it,” he told reporters in Florida on Monday.
“This is not the right time. It’s one thing to be aggressive and it’s another thing for them to be aggressive. It’s another thing to attack his house. Now is not the right time to do something like that,” he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, August 15, 2025.
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Some commentators on social media said Russia was using the alleged drone attack as a way to gauge President Trump’s attitude toward Ukraine, aiming to undermine or stress test the potential security benefits Kiev would receive as part of the peace deal.
Olena Harushka, co-founder of the International Center for Victory in Ukraine, commented: “This is how the supposedly impenetrable ‘security of Ukraine’ collapses. Is it a Russian false flag operation or is it just a lie… and they are gone.”
Asked if there was any evidence from U.S. intelligence that an attack actually occurred, President Trump acknowledged that it was “possible” that the attack did not actually occur. But, he added, “President Putin told me this morning that it happened.”
