Russia invents 'attack' on Putin’s residence and threatens Ukraine: What is known about fake
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Accusations by Russia of an "attack" on the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin may be a prelude to new strikes on Ukraine, warned President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
What Moscow is claiming, how Kyiv is responding, and where the Russian versions don’t match — in the RBC-Ukraine report.
What Russia claiming
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that on the night of December 29, Ukraine allegedly carried out a drone attack on the state residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Novgorod region.
"The Russian negotiating position will be revised in light of the Kyiv regime’s full turn toward a policy of state terrorism. The targets and timing of Russia’s retaliatory strike after the attack on Putin’s state residence have been determined," he emphasized.
At the same time, Lavrov said that Russia does not intend to withdraw from the negotiation process.
In addition, Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov said that the Russian President allegedly raised the issue of the attack during a conversation with US President Donald Trump. According to him, Trump purportedly promised afterward to change his approach to communicating with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump himself has not commented on these claims so far. However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump did indeed speak with Putin today.
Ukraine’s reaction
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the Russian side’s statements "yet another lie" and warned that they may be a prelude to new strikes on Ukraine, including Kyiv.
According to him, Moscow is looking for a pretext to attack government buildings, seeking to derail Ukraine’s diplomatic efforts and those of its partners.
"This is a fake story that Russia needs to justify further attacks and to avoid taking real steps toward ending the war," Zelenskyy stressed.
The president also emphasized that Ukraine is not taking any actions that could undermine diplomacy, unlike Russia.
Ukraine MFA’s position
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Russia’s claims about an alleged attack on Putin’s residence are fabricated. According to him, the purpose of such statements is to create a false pretext for new strikes on Ukraine and to undermine the peace process.
"First, Russia has already struck the Ukrainian government building this year. Second, Ukraine targets only legitimate military objectives on Russian territory — in response to Russian strikes on Ukraine. Third, Russia is the aggressor, while Ukraine is a country under attack and is defending itself in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter," Sybiha said.
In particular, in early September this year, Russian forces struck the Cabinet of Ministers building with an Iskander missile.
Discrepancies in Russian officials’ statements
Notably, significant inconsistencies have been recorded in the statements made by Russian officials. In particular, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that on the night of December 29, 89 drones were shot down over various regions of Russia.
At the same time, Lavrov claimed that as many as 91 drones were allegedly heading specifically toward Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region.
According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the drones were intercepted over Bryansk, Novgorod, Rostov, and Smolensk regions, Krasnodar Krai, Adygeya, as well as over the waters of the Sea of Azov.
What Trump says
Later, Trump stated that Putin indeed complained to him about the alleged Ukrainian attack on his residence. The US leader called it "not good" and mentioned Tomahawk missiles.
Interestingly, Trump initially said that he had only heard about the incident and had no details.
He said that he had just found out about it but didn’t know anything, and that it would be very bad.
However, shortly afterward, Trump clarified that he had spoken with Putin, who told him about the alleged attack on his residence.
"President Putin told me about that. Early in the morning, he said he was attacked. It’s not good. It’s not good. Don’t forget, I stopped the Tomahawks. It's a delicate period of time. This is not the right time. 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," the US president stated.
Where Putin’s residence is located
The Dolgie Borody residence (also known as Valdai or Uzhin) is located in Russia’s Novgorod region, about 20 km from the city of Valdai. It is among Putin’s official residences, along with the Kremlin, Novo-Ogaryovo, Bocharov Ruchey in Sochi, and the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna.
In the summer of this year, it became known that over the course of a year and a half, the number of air defense systems around Putin’s Valdai residence increased from two to twelve. This likely happened after one of the drones flew over Putin’s residence during an attack on an oil depot in St. Petersburg in late 2024.
Sources: statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, as well as data from open sources.
