Russia's Defense Ministry had released a video of a downed drone that it said Ukraine had launched at Putin's residence, something kyiv rejected.
Posted on January 5, 2026
US President Donald Trump has dismissed claims that Ukraine had attacked Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence as the war rages on, saying he did not “believe the attack had occurred”, after initially accepting the Kremlin's version of events at face value.
On Sunday night, Trump, aboard Air Force One, told reporters that “no one knew at the time” whether a report about the alleged incident was accurate. He added that “something” happened near Putin's residence, but after U.S. officials reviewed the evidence, they did not believe Ukraine was the target.
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Ukraine immediately denied involvement and accused Russia of a false flag operation to undermine peace negotiations. Moscow quickly said the incident would harden its stance in peace talks.
Reports of the attack emerged last week after Russia's Defense Ministry released video of a downed drone that it said kyiv had launched at Putin's residence in the Novgorod region.
According to the ministry, the residence was not damaged and Putin was elsewhere at the time.
Along with Ukraine, its Western allies also strongly questioned whether the attack had occurred.
The attack claim came as Russia and Ukraine work to reach a ceasefire agreement to end a nearly four-year war.
European leaders are expected to meet in France on Tuesday to continue talks on a US-backed ceasefire plan, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was “90 percent ready.” Territorial questions about whether or not to cede lands conquered in war remain at the center of the issue.
First civilian deaths in Kyiv in 2026
Ukrainian authorities reported Monday morning that an overnight Russian attack in the kyiv region had killed two people, the first victims in the capital in 2026.
According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the Russian attack set fire to a medical center in the Obolonskyi district, in the northern sector of kyiv, where a hospitalization ward operated.
The service said once the fire was extinguished, a body was found inside. A woman was also injured and 25 people were evacuated, the service added on Telegram.
Cities and towns in the kyiv region were also damaged and critical infrastructure was affected, leading to the death of a man in his 70s in the Fastiv district, southwest of the capital, Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said on Telegram.
Kalashnyk added that small areas of the region were left without electricity.
Russia has not yet commented on the overnight attack.
