Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Tuesday that Kyiv’s allies can “verify” the falsehood of Moscow’s accusations of launching a drone attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in Valdai, describing them as “fabrications.”
Zelenskyy stated, “Our negotiating team contacted the American team, reviewed the details, and we concluded that these claims are fabricated, and of course, our partners can verify this thanks to their sources,” according to Agence France-Presse.
In a related context, a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on Tuesday that the Kremlin’s accusations against Ukraine “are not based on any conclusive evidence, even after verifying the information with our partners,” and pointed out that “the Russian authorities contradict themselves regarding what actually happened.”
The French source continued, saying that the continued intensive Russian air strikes on Ukraine contradict the peace plan supported by US President Donald Trump.
In contrast, the Kremlin stated on Tuesday that it would not provide evidence of what it described as a Ukrainian drone attack targeting the Russian President’s residence in the Novgorod region, explaining that the military is responsible for this type of investigation.
The Kremlin stated that the Ukrainian attack would lead to a tightening of Russia’s position regarding any potential peace agreement to end the fighting in Ukraine.
For its part, Kyiv clarified on Tuesday that Moscow has not provided “reasonable evidence” proving the targeting of Putin’s residence.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote in a tweet on the “X” platform, “Almost a day has passed without Russia providing any reasonable evidence of its accusations against Ukraine of launching an alleged attack on Putin’s residence, and it will not do so, because there is no evidence, and no such attack occurred.”
Zelenskyy had previously rejected the Russian accusations, describing them as “another round of lies,” aimed at justifying further attacks on his country and prolonging the war.
In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “this terrorist act aims to thwart the negotiation process,” stressing that “the Russian army knows how and when to respond.”
Peskov added that “Zelenskyy himself is trying to deny this, and many Western media outlets that are aligned with the Kyiv regime have begun to spread the idea that this did not happen, and this is a completely crazy claim.”
Peskov declined to reveal Putin’s whereabouts at the time of the attack, considering that disclosing such details is inappropriate in light of recent events.
When asked if Russia possessed material evidence of the drone attack, he explained that air defenses shot down the drones, noting that dealing with the debris is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense.
