Russia Ukraine Monitoring Desk Islamabad
Ukrainian drones attack on President Putin’s residence at a cruicial time when the sides are engaged in ending the war process through US median, has become a mystery. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that Ukraine’s armed forces had attempted a “massive” drone attack on Putin’s residence using 91 drones, all of which were allegedly destroyed by air defense systems. President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied allegations, and accused Moscow of trying to derail peace talks.
Russia only in few hours of this “Attack” took a major step forward in connection of her previous warnings to EU of use of nuclear if necessary. Russia’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday for the first time released images of the launch system for its new nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missile, codenamed Oreshnik, as it announced the weapon’s deployment in neighboring Belarus.
Russia said it would now review its position in peace negotiations. It is not yet clear where Putin was at the time of the alleged attack.
Zelensky dismissed the claim as “typical Russian lies”, intended to give the Kremlin an excuse to continue attacks on Ukraine. He said, Moscow was trying to wreck US-Ukraine peace talks.
Kyiv said, Russia has given no evidence of attack on Putin retreat even after a whole day passed.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s official report said only 18 drones were shot down over the Novgorod region during the night.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said the alleged attack would prompt Russia to revise its negotiating position on Ukraine, though he added that Moscow did not plan to withdraw from talks with the United States.
He also warned that the incident would not go unanswered, saying Russian forces had already selected targets and timing for retaliatory strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Lavrov’s allegations “fake” and “extremely dangerous,” arguing that Moscow was trying to sabotage diplomatic efforts to end the war and justify continued strikes on Ukraine.
Shortly after Lavrov issued his statement, the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump concluded a “positive” phone call with Putin about Ukraine.
Trump then criticized the alleged Ukrainian drone attack, saying it was “not the right time” given the ongoing talks to end the war.
The Foreign Minister of Ukraine , Mr. Andrii Sybiha has categorically rejected the Russian manipulations regarding the alleged “attempt to attack Putin’s residence” in a statement shared on his X account.
He said , such manimulations are fabricated for only one reason: to create a pretext and false justification for Russia’s further attacks against Ukraine, as well as to undermine and impede the peace process.
He added, Usual Russian tactic: accuse the other side of what you are doing or planning yourself.
First, Russia has already struck the Ukrainian government building this year.
Second, he continued, Ukraine only strikes legitimate military targets in the Russian territory—in response to Russian strikes at Ukraine.
Third, Russia is the aggressor, and Ukraine is the country that has been attacked and defends itself according to article 51 of the UN Charter. There can be no false equivalence between the aggressor and the country defending itself.
He urged the world to condemn provocative Russian statements aimed at derailing the constructive peace process. Ukraine remains committed to peace efforts led by the United States, with the participation of European partners.
The statements of the residents of the town of Valdai in Russia’s Novgorod region are very important
They said they neither heard nor saw signs of a large-scale drone attack overnight on Monday despite official claims that nearly 100 Ukrainian drones targeted President Vladimir Putin’s residence there.
Fourteen residents told the independent outlet Mozhem Obyasnit (Picked by The Moscow Times) that they received no text alerts warning of a drone threat and did not hear any buzzing sounds or explosions characteristic of a drone attack.
“There was no noise that night, no explosions, nothing,” one resident was quoted as saying. “If something like that had happened, the whole town would have been talking about it.”
Putin’s Valdai residence, known as Dolgiye Borody, lies northeast of the town and is separated from it by Lake Valdai.
Residents told Mozhem Obyasnit that they usually know when the Russian president visits his residence due to the heavy helicopter traffic accompanying his arrival.
