On January 4, US President Donald Trump informed that US officials had determined that Ukraine did not target Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence in a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack last week.
President Trump said that "something happened near" Mr. Putin's residence, but noted that US officials did not detect signs that the Russian President's residence was the target of attack.
I don't believe there was that attack" - Mr. Trump told reporters when returning to Washington after 2 weeks at his home in Florida. "We don't believe that happened, after re-examining".
Mr. Trump's statement was made after the leader of the General Intelligence Service of the Russian Army (GRU) Igor Kostyukov presented the US military attache with what Russia called evidence of a Ukrainian airstrike targeting the presidential residence.
According to Mr. Kostyukov, the evidence includes a "decrypted navigation data container and the control unit of a UAV shot down by Russian air defense in Novgorod province on December 29, 2025".
In an exchange with a US military attache at the evidence handover ceremony on January 2, Mr. Kostyukov emphasized that the lead data decoded by Russian experts showed that the Russian President's residence in Novgorod was targeted.
We hope this will eliminate all doubts and contribute to verifying the truth," Mr. Kostyukov added.
On the evening of December 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Ukraine had simultaneously launched 91 suicide-style long-range UAVs targeting the president's residence in the Novgorod region. According to Mr. Lavrov, all of these UAVs were intercepted by Russian air defense systems, causing no casualties or material damage.
Although the attack did not leave direct consequences, Moscow considers this a serious escalation. The Russian Foreign Minister accused Kiev of "completely switching to state terrorism" and affirmed that Russia will be forced to reconsider its position in the current negotiation process.
