Ukraine denies involvement in reported attack on Russian Presidents residence

Ukrainian President Rejects Moscow’s Claim of Drone Attack on Putin’s Residence

In a statement released on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denied Russia’s claim that Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Novgorod. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, air defense systems shot down the aerial attack, which allegedly took place “practically immediately after” talks between US President Donald Trump and Zelenskyy on negotiations to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Zelenskyy has rejected Moscow’s claim, stating that it was an attempt to derail peace talks. Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha also condemned the allegation, saying it aimed to create a pretext for further attacks against Ukraine and undermine the peace process.

Russian President Putin reportedly informed Trump during their phone call on Sunday that Ukraine had attempted to attack his residence. Trump expressed anger over the claim, stating that he would “find out” if there was evidence to support it.

The incident comes as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches its fourth year. Despite progress in negotiations, major sticking points remain regarding the future of territory in eastern Ukraine that Russia has occupied.

Fighting continued across multiple fronts in Ukraine, with Russian forces capturing a village in the Donetsk region and launching attacks on cities in southeastern Ukraine. At least one civilian was killed and another injured in a Russian attack on Orikhiv, while shelling in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region injured three people over the past 24 hours.

Russia claimed its forces were advancing or improving positions across multiple regions, including Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson, and Dnipropetrovsk. The Ukrainian General Staff reported 89 combat engagements in the past 24 hours.

Source: Al Jazeera