Moscow claimed on Monday that Ukraine attempted a drone attack on President Vladimir Putin‘s residence in the Novgorod region, alleging that 91 long-range drones where intercepted by Russian air defenses. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the allegations-which emerged shortly after his meeting with US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, florida-as false, describing them as a purposeful attempt to sabotage peace efforts.
‘This alleged “residence strike” story is a complete fabrication intended to justify additional attacks against Ukraine,including Kyiv,as well as Russia’s own refusal to take necessary steps to end the war,’ Zelenskyy wrote on X on Monday. ‘Ukraine does not take steps that can undermine diplomacy,’ he added.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the incident as a ‘unfriendly act’ and labelled it ‘state terrorism’, asserting that Russia’s negotiating position would be reconsidered in light of the attack. lavrov also said that Moscow had already identified targets for retaliatory strikes and warned of consequences. Despite this, he continued, Russia does not intend to withdraw from the negotiation process with the United States regarding Ukraine.
Trump spoke by phone with Putin following the alleged attack, a conversation the american president later described as ‘positive’. Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was ‘very angry’ about the allegation and stressed the sensitivity of the current diplomatic environment, while acknowledging that there was no definitive evidence and that investigations would be required.
The Kremlin’s readout of the call indicated that President Putin raised concerns about the alleged attack and signalled a possible reassessment of Russia’s negotiating posture, echoing Lavrov’s earlier remarks.
Critical Moment for Peace
the Kremlin’s claim came at a critical moment in the fragile peace process that began in February after Donald Trump took office. Just hours before the alleged Ukrainian drone attack,Trump hosted Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago,after which both sides stated that they were ‘very close’ to finalizing an agreement. The Ukrainian leader even said that as much as 90 per cent of the peace plan had already been agreed, including Kyiv’s long-sought Western security guarantees.Despite these developments, other core issues-such as the future status of contested territories in Ukraine and arrangements concerning nuclear facilities-remain unresolved.
The timing of Moscow’s claim regarding the alleged drone attack thus rightly raises suspicions of a deliberate attempt to derail peace negotiations. Such tactics would hardly be unprecedented in the decade-long conflict: the interests of many-both directly and indirectly-involved parties…
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