 "A Russian service member stands next to the remains of a drone, which, according to the Russian Defence Ministry, was downed during the repelling of an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image from a video released on December 31, 2025. Reuters File")
Russia has provided supposed evidence containing part of a Ukrainian drone that was allegedly used to hit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence earlier this week.
The handover involved a senior Russian official and a US military attache. Russia has accused Ukraine of targeting Putin’s residence in Russia’s northern Novgorod region with 91 long-range attack drones, effectively changing the terms of the ongoing negotiations to end the war between the two countries.
What evidence has been submitted?
A video posted on the Russian Defence Ministry’s Telegram channel showed Admiral Igor Kostyukov, head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces, handing to the US attache what he described as the controlling mechanism of a drone found among downed fragments.
“The decryption of the content of the memory of the navigation controller of the drones carried out by specialists of Russia’s special services confirms without question that the target of the attack was the complex of buildings of the Russian president’s residence in Novgorod region,” Kostyukov said.
“We presume that this measure will do away with any questions and allow for the truth to be established.”
The Ministry had earlier posted a statement on Telegram saying its findings would be turned over to the United States.
Was Putin’s residence targeted?
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has cited senior US security officials as saying that there was no targeted attack on Putin’s residence.
US President Donald Trump initially expressed sympathy for the Russian charge, telling reporters on Monday that Putin had informed him of the alleged incident and that he was “very angry” about it.
By Wednesday, Trump appeared more sceptical, sharing on social media a New York Post editorial accusing Russia of blocking peace in Ukraine.
Ukraine has denied carrying out such an attack and described the accusation as part of a Russian disinformation campaign meant to drive a wedge between Kyiv and Washington after a weekend meeting between Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
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View AllWith inputs from agencies