Trump rejects claims Ukraine attacked Putin’s residence

US President Donald Trump said he does not believe Ukrainian forces targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence with drones.

“I don’t believe that strike happened,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, cruising north from a holiday break at Mar-a-Lago, adding that US officials have since concluded Ukraine did not target Putin’s residence, contradicting Moscow’s account and softening his earlier reaction, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Trump acknowledged that he initially shared Putin’s account after speaking with the Russian leader, but stressed that context was important. “Because nobody knew at that moment,” he explained.

“That was the first we ever heard about it. [Putin] said that his house was attacked. We don’t believe that happened,” the president emphasised.

On December 29, 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reported an attempted drone attack on Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region. The Wall Street Journal noted that the CIA did not accept Russia’s claims. The Russian Defence Ministry later said that data from the downed drone, including flight routing and the controller, had been handed over to a US military attaché in Moscow.

By Jeyhun Aghazada