During talks on ending the war in Ukraine, Kyiv allegedly carried out an attack on the residence of Vladimir Putin. At least that is what the Russians claim; they have already issued threats of retaliation and of changing their position on negotiations. However, the Kremlin has failed to agree on a single version of events. According to Russia’s foreign minister, five times as many drones were used in the alleged attack as the number reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
On December 28, a meeting took place in Florida between the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and the President of the United States, Donald Trump. The talks concerned ending the war in Ukraine. After the peace negotiations, the Ukrainian leader assessed them as fruitful, stating that “significant progress” had been made.
On December 29, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reported that while talks on ending the war were being held at Trump’s residence, Ukrainians sent drones toward the residence of Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, in the Novgorod Oblast. The attack was allegedly carried out using 91 unmanned aerial vehicles.
“All unmanned aircraft were destroyed by the air defense systems of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” he wrote on the Telegram platform.
He also threatened that “such reckless actions will not go unanswered. The targets of retaliatory strikes and the timing of their execution by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have been determined.” He added that Russia’s position on peace negotiations would change. The Russian minister conveyed a similar message to the media.
However, several hours before Lavrov’s statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense had issued its daily report on air defense operations. According to it, there was no question of 91 drones heading toward Putin’s residence, as during the night of December 28–29 Russia reportedly destroyed 89 such aircraft in total. Of these, 18 were said to have been over the territory of the Novgorod Oblast.