President Donald Trump has broken his silence following explosive claims from Vladimir Putin that Ukraine launched a massive overnight drone strike on his residence - a move that has reignited fears of the war spiraling even further out of control.
Russian officials allege that a fleet of 91 long-range drones was deployed by Ukraine in an attempt to target Putin’s official state residence, located in Russia’s northwestern Novgorod region.
Russia says all drones were intercepted with no damage
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed the situation on Monday, December 29, insisting that the full swarm of drones was intercepted and destroyed before any damage could be done, per Sky News.
In a Telegram post, Lavrov confirmed there were no injuries or structural damage from the alleged attack - but warned that the incident could still shake up Russia’s stance in peace negotiations.
"Given the final degeneration of the criminal Kyiv regime, which has switched to a policy of state terrorism, Russia's negotiating position will be revised," Lavrov stated.
However, despite raising the alarm, Lavrov stopped short of saying Russia would walk away from peace talks altogether. As reported by Russian state media outlet TASS, he added that Russia has no intention of completely pulling out of discussions with the US.
At this time, it’s still unknown whether President Putin was at the Novgorod residence when the alleged strike took place.
Trump says he learned about the attack directly from Putin
The claims came on the heels of recent peace talks in Florida, where Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hash out a revised plan to bring the war to a close.
Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump told reporters that he was briefed on the incident by none other than Putin himself.
“Yeah, I don't, I don't like it - it's not good. I heard about it this morning. Do you know who told me about it? President Putin told me about it early in the morning - he said he was attacked,” Trump revealed.
He went on to describe the situation as dangerous and poorly timed.
“It's no good, it's no good. Don't forget, you know, the Tomahawks? I stopped the Tomahawks. I didn't want that, because we're talking about, you know, it's a delicate period of time. This is not the right time.
“It's one thing to be offensive because they were offensive. It's another thing to attack his house. It's not the right time to do any of that and can't do it - and I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it.”
Zelenskyy slams the drone attack claim as fake news
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasted no time firing back, calling the whole thing “typical Russian lies” in a statement posted to X.
“Russia is at it again, using dangerous statements to undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump's team. We keep working together to bring peace closer,” he wrote.
He also accused Russia of fabricating the entire story as an excuse to escalate further attacks against Ukraine - including its capital, Kyiv - and to avoid participating in peace efforts.
“This alleged 'residence strike' story is a complete fabrication intended to justify additional attacks against Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well as Russia’s own refusal to take necessary steps to end the war. Typical Russian lies.”
Zelenskyy didn’t hold back, urging the global community not to remain silent.
“Ukraine does not take steps that can undermine diplomacy… It is critical that the world doesn’t stay silent now. We cannot allow Russia to undermine the work on achieving a lasting peace.”