Ukraine denies involvement in alleged drone attack on Putin residence as Kremlin lashes out, says incident will harden stance in peace talks
Ukraine said there is no plausible evidence it launched a drone attack on one of Vladimir Putin’s residences, accusing Moscow of fabricating the claim to manipulate an emerging peace process, as the Kremlin warned the alleged incident would toughen Russia’s position in negotiations.
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“Almost a day passed and Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence to its accusations of Ukraine’s alleged ‘attack on Putin’s residence.’ And they won’t. Because there’s none. No such attack happened,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said in a post on X.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Kyiv’s denial and criticism from Western outlets as “insane,” insisting Russia should not be expected to present proof because air defenses shot the drones down. He said the alleged operation was intended to collapse talks and that the episode would harden Russia’s stance on any potential deal.
Peskov declined to say where Putin was at the time, citing security concerns. Asked whether Russia held physical evidence of downed drones, he said the question of wreckage was a matter for the defense ministry.
The dispute over the reported strike added immediate tension to fragile diplomatic efforts. U.S. President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that Putin had told him Ukraine tried to attack his residence in northern Russia. “I don’t like it. It’s not good,” Trump told reporters when asked whether the allegation could affect his attempts to broker peace. “I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it. It’s a delicate period of time. This is not the right time. It’s one thing to be offensive… It’s another thing to attack his house.” Pressed on evidence, Trump said, “We’ll find out.”
The claim and counterclaim arrive as European leaders signal cautious optimism about the path to a settlement. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said peace in Ukraine could be achieved “in the coming weeks,” following talks with fellow European leaders, Canada and NATO. “Peace is on the horizon, there is no doubt that things have happened that give grounds for hope that this war can end, and quite quickly, but it is still a hope, far from 100% certain,” he said. He added that U.S. security guarantees for Kyiv were a source of confidence, while acknowledging that Ukraine would need to accept compromises on territorial issues.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine provided independently verifiable evidence to substantiate the alleged attack or denial. The Kremlin’s assertion that the incident will stiffen its position underscores how quickly a single contested event can influence negotiations, even as public statements from Western partners emphasize urgency and a narrow window for diplomacy.
With both sides publicly staking out positions and key international actors invested in a near-term breakthrough, the immediate questions are whether Russia’s defense ministry releases corroborating material, whether Ukraine provides further documentation of its denial, and how any new disclosures might affect talks. For now, the episode spotlights the fragile sequencing of diplomacy, where claims made in wartime can ripple across negotiating rooms before facts are firmly established.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
