Russia’s defence ministry on Wednesday released a video of a downed drone that it claimed was launched by Ukraine toward President Vladimir Putin’s residence in northwest Russia earlier this week, an allegation Kyiv has firmly denied.
Moscow made the claim shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US President Donald Trump in Florida. Ukrainian officials dismissed the accusation as a “lie” and a “fabrication,” saying it was designed to manipulate the peace process. The European Union also criticised the move, stating that the video appeared intended to derail ongoing efforts toward de-escalation.
Russia, however, described the incident as a “terrorist attack” and a “personal attack” against President Putin, warning that it would harden Moscow’s position in negotiations related to the Ukraine war.
The video, filmed at night, shows what appears to be a damaged drone lying in snow in a wooded area. The defence ministry said the alleged attack was “targeted, carefully planned and carried out in stages.”
Russian authorities did not disclose where Putin was at the time, stating only that the alleged drone launch occurred on the night of December 28–29 at his residence in the Novgorod region.
The locations of Putin’s residences are typically kept secret. According to the ministry, the attack involved a “mass” drone launch around 7pm on December 28, but it said no damage was caused to the residence.
The ministry also released footage of a man it identified as a local resident from the settlement of Roshchino, presented as a witness. However, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said it had not seen any independent footage or reporting consistent with Ukrainian deep-strike operations that would corroborate the Kremlin’s claims.
Russian officials have since rallied behind Putin, who has been in power since December 1999. In recent weeks, he has reiterated that Moscow would seek to seize additional Ukrainian territory by force if diplomacy fails. The ISW said the alleged incident was being used by Kremlin officials to justify continued demands that Ukraine and Western countries capitulate to Russia’s earlier conditions.
