Russia’s foreign minister claimed on Monday that a Ukrainian drone strike targeted one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences, a claim Kiev quickly rejected.
Following the alleged attack in the Novgorod region, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that “Russia’s negotiating position will be revised” in ongoing peace talks aimed at ending Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Lavrov said the incident caused no damage or casualties, but that the Russian military had selected targets for “retaliatory strikes.”
Foreign Minister Lavrov said Russian air defense forces shot down 91 drones. He did not claim that Putin was in Novgorod at the time. He also said Russia had no intention of withdrawing from negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy quickly denied the alleged drone attack as a “complete fabrication” from Russia.
Zelenskiy noted that the claim came a day after he met with US President Donald Trump for nearly three hours in Florida.
No major progress was made during the talks, but the two leaders agreed in the latest version of the peace plan that the United States would guarantee Ukraine’s security for 15 years, with options to extend those guarantees, Zelenskiy said early Monday.
“Russia is at it again, using dangerous rhetoric to undermine all the diplomatic efforts we shared with President Trump’s team. We continue to work together to bring peace closer,” President Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Meanwhile, the White House announced Monday morning that President Trump had a “positive meeting” with President Putin regarding Ukraine, but did not disclose the content of the meeting.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
