A claim by the Russian government of an attempt to strike President Vladimir Putin’s government house has been called “a complete fabrication” by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The motive for making the false claim was to provide a reason for more attacks on Ukraine, including the capital city of Kyiv.
However, according to Zelenskyy, Ukraine never undertakes actions that could disrupt the diplomatic process, yet it seems that Russia has repeatedly used provocative rhetoric to undermine the peace-building initiative.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs echoed this sentiment, deeming this claim a “fake” that is consistent with “the typical Russian practice of blaming someone else before striking itself,” according to Ukraine MFA on X. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also called on the world not to stay silent over “provocative statements of Russia aimed at disrupting peace process.”
For its part, Russia said that overnight through Dec. 29, there was an attempt by Ukraine to attack President Putin’s state residence in Russia’s Novgorod Region using 91 long-range combat drones, according to TASS, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claiming there were no casualties and damage was not reported.
Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Putin raised the alleged incident in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump and warned it would not go “unanswered,” according to TASS. Ushakov said Putin told Trump Moscow would reassess its position in negotiations to resolve the conflict.
