MOSCOW: Russia said on Thursday it had carried out a technical examination of a drone attack it alleges targeted President Vladimir Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region and will share the findings with the United States.
The Defence Ministry said it retrieved a flight assignment file from the memory device of one of the drones involved in the December 29 attack.
“During the special technical examination of the navigation system block of one of the Ukrainian drones…Russian special services managed to retrieve a flight assignment file uploaded into its memory,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said decoding the routing data indicated “the ultimate target of the Ukrainian drone attack…was a facility at the Russian president’s residence in the Novgorod region.”
It added that “these materials will be sent to the American side through established channels.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously said Kyiv carried out the operation using 91 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the night of December 29.
According to Lavrov, all drones were destroyed and no casualties or damage from debris were reported. The ministry added the attack began around 7:00 pm on December 28 and was “carefully planned and carried out in stages.”
Videos released by Russian defence ministry showed a damaged drone lying in snow and a local man identified as a witness from the settlement of Roshchino.
Moscow described the attack as a “terrorist” and “personal” attack on Putin, warning it could harden Russia’s negotiating position in peace talks with Ukraine.
Ukraine rejects allegations as ‘fabrication’
Ukraine dismissed the allegations as a “fabrication” intended to influence international opinion and disrupt ongoing peace efforts.
Ukrainian officials also denied any drone strike on Putin’s residence, and said Russia was attempting to manipulate the diplomatic process.
The European Union echoed this view, suggesting that the videos released by Moscow appeared aimed at “derailing” diplomatic efforts to end the nearly four-year war.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said it had found no evidence to support Russia’s claim and noted that it had “not observed footage or reporting that typically follows Ukrainian deep strikes” to corroborate the allegation.
US President Donald Trump, who met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida on Monday, commented on the reports, saying he “did not like the news” and that it was “not good.”
The Kremlin’s allegations come amid renewed efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict, with both sides engaged in ongoing talks.
Russia has not disclosed the whereabouts of President Putin at the time of the alleged attack, citing security protocols.
