Peace hopes dented as Russia says Ukraine tried to attack Putin residence
Russia on Monday (December 29) accused Ukraine of trying to hit one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences in northern Russia with a large drone barrage, an allegation Kyiv dismissed as a fabrication intended to disrupt peace talks.
The sharp exchange, including a Russian warning that it was reassessing its approach at the negotiating table, further clouded prospects for a deal to end the war.
US President Donald Trump said Putin raised the alleged incident in a phone call on Monday morning, leaving him angry. Trump nevertheless said he still believed an agreement could be close, even as he acknowledged that territorial disputes remained difficult.
A day earlier, Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Florida and said the two sides were edging nearer to an end to the conflict. He has also indicated he expects European countries to shoulder a larger share of future security efforts, with the United States providing backing.
Lavrov claims 91 drones; Kyiv rejects accusation
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine attempted to attack Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region, west of Moscow, on December 28–29 using 91 long-range drones, all of which were destroyed by Russian air defences. He said there were no injuries and no damage, and described the alleged attack as “state terrorism, warning it would not go unanswered and that retaliatory targets had already been chosen.
Lavrov provided no evidence to support the claim, and it was not clear where Putin was at the time.
Zelenskiy denied Ukraine had planned any such operation and accused Russia of setting the stage for strikes on Kyiv, potentially aimed at government buildings, to derail progress following US-Ukraine contacts. Ukraine’s foreign minister also described Russia’s allegation as invented to create a pretext for further attacks and to undermine the peace process.
Territorial issues remain unresolved
The dispute erupted as both sides continued to stake out positions on territory and security guarantees.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, controls about a fifth of the country, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Moscow also claims the Donbas, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, though they are internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine wants to fight frozen along the current front lines, while Russia has demanded that Kyiv pull its forces out of areas of the Donetsk region that Russian troops have not captured.
Underlining Moscow’s stance, Putin told commanders on Monday to keep pushing to secure full control of the Zaporizhzhia region, where Russia says it already holds around three-quarters of the territory.
A senior Russian commander told Putin that Russian forces were about 15 km from the region’s largest city, also called Zaporizhzhia, and Putin responded that the offensive should continue.
Reuters
