US President Excludes Ukraine's Involvement in Targeting Putin's Residence

SadaNews - President Donald Trump stated that he does not believe Ukraine attacked Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence in northwestern Russia with drones, as Moscow claims, reiterating his intention to reach an agreement soon.

Trump said from Air Force One, "I don't believe that strike occurred," adding, "No one knows yet" whether the Russian claims denied by Kyiv are accurate.

In this context, the US President revealed that "there are no deadlines for an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, but we will reach it soon."

Moscow had accused Kyiv of targeting Putin's heavily protected residence in Valdai, located between Moscow and St. Petersburg, with 91 drones at dawn on December 29.

Kyiv described the accusation as a "lie" aimed at paving the way for new attacks against it and "undermining" diplomatic efforts.

The Kremlin warned last Tuesday that this attack would lead to a tightening of its negotiating position in discussions aimed at ending the war.

Clips and Evidence

In response to the doubts expressed by Europeans and experts regarding the validity of the attack, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a video of a downed drone, which Moscow claims Ukraine used in the assault.

The video, filmed at night, shows a damaged drone that fell onto the snow in a wooded area. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the attack was "precise and carefully planned, and executed in stages."

The Russian army also published a map showing the flight path of the 91 drones said to have targeted the residence.

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed last week that Ukraine launched a wave of drones at Putin's official residence in the Novgorod region of northwestern Russia, and that Russian defense systems managed to thwart them.

Mutual Accusations

In turn, data published by the Russian Ministry of Defense revealed that Ukraine has targeted Moscow with drones daily since the beginning of 2026. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that it shot down 137 Russian drones since Sunday evening in various regions of the country.

The ministry mentioned on the Telegram app that as of yesterday, Russian air defense systems had destroyed 57 drones over the Moscow area out of a total of 437 downed over Russia.

The daily activity indicates a shift from previous patterns, where Moscow was intermittently bombarded, often at symbolic times rather than as a semi-regular pressure tactic.

Ukraine has yet to release any comments, but Kyiv has increasingly utilized long-range drones to strike targets deep within Russia.

Ukraine claims such attacks aim to disrupt military logistical and energy infrastructure, raise the costs of Moscow's war effort, and respond to repeated Russian missile and drone attacks in a war launched by Russia nearly four years ago.

The Russian aviation watchdog (Rosaviatsiya) stated on the Telegram app that the attacks led to a temporary shutdown of airports in Moscow and dozens of other Russian airports for safety reasons.

This disruption comes during the Russian New Year holiday and the Orthodox Christmas holiday, which this year extends until January 9, as many Russians travel for their holidays both domestically and abroad, making it one of the busiest periods in the country for transportation and tourism.

Russia and Ukraine have been exchanging strikes and attacks in a war that has been raging for nearly four years, with Russia, which currently controls about 20% of Ukraine, launching near-daily missile and drone strikes against its neighbor.

The war in Ukraine has resulted in heavy human losses, with military fatalities from both sides estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

Source: Reuters