Although Russia provided the US with irrefutable evidence of the Ukrainian attack involving 91 drones against the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Novgorod on 12/29, and although Trump had initially admitted that the target of this attack was one of Putin's homes, the American president is now shifting his rhetoric and stance. He now states that Putin was not the target after all and that, ultimately, this attack did not take place. This change in the American president's position causes concern and raises a series of questions, chief among them: what happened to cause this shift in stance within just a few days? The explanation was offered by Russian lawmaker Alexey Chepa, who argued that the reason for Trump's "about-face" is nothing other than the participation of the CIA in this terrorist attack. According to Chepa, the Ukrainian drone attack on Putin's residence would have been impossible if the secret services—specifically the CIA—were not behind it. This argument sounds highly logical given that the Ukrainians cannot proceed with such a dangerous mission without first receiving American approval.
Trump: Something happened nearby
In his statements, US President Donald Trump expressed doubts about the fact that Ukrainian drones attacked the residence of the Russian leader Putin in late December, despite having stated a week ago that he was extremely angryabout the incident and that such actions were unacceptable. "I don’t believe this attack actually happened. Something happened nearby, but it has nothing to do with this," Trump stated, changing his position within a few days. Explaining his initial angry reaction, Trump pointed out that "nobody knew at the time." "In other words, I heard it for the first time then," Trump said, referring to the phone call he received from Russian President Putin to inform him about the attack. "He told me his house was attacked. Now that we've been able to check it, we don't believe it happened," Trump said.
The CIA behind the operation
The attack on the government residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin without the involvement of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) would have been impossible, argues the first vice-chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Relations, Alexei Chepa. In an interview, the Russian deputy attempted to explain why American leader Donald Trump changed his position regarding the attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF). "I said from the beginning that without the support of the secret services, this is impossible. The secret services—first and foremost the CIA. The CIA responded after a few hours that, according to their information, there was no attack. But there was an attack. The facts confirm it," Chepa stated. The Russian lawmaker reminded that the Ukrainians used 91 drones for the attack, which were destroyed by Russian air defense forces over the regions of Bryansk, Smolensk, and Novgorod.
Guided from the start
"In our own internal air defense systems, launches are tracked from the beginning and at some point the air defensebegins to operate. But the drones are guided almost from the start. Especially if they are large. From the points each drone made, we can reconstruct its flight path. They tried to succeed, but they failed," the Russian deputy pointed out.
Russia handed over irrefutable evidence of the assassination attempt against Putin to the US
On 1/2, Russian officials announced that they officially delivered evidence to the United States which, according to Moscow, confirms that the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out a drone attack on Vladimir Putin's residence in the Novgorod region. As emphasized, the goal of this move was to refute Kyiv's claims that the incident never happened. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the Russian General Staff, debris from the drones used in the attack was identified. The head of the agency, Igor Kostyukov, stated that some of the unmanned aircraft retained functional navigation systems, which allowed for the full decryption of their course. As he mentioned, the data clearly confirms that the target of the attack was the building complex where the Russian leader's presidential residence is located. This evidence, according to Moscow, was transmitted to the American side so that there would be no doubt about what happened.
Zelensky also participated in the planning
Russian officials have argued that the organization of the attack was planned by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, Zelensky was personally involved in planning the attack against the presidential residence of Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the Novgorod region. Speaking to a television station, Saldo clearly stated: "Zelensky himself planned these actions last week, such as the attempted strike against the president's residence." This statement, if confirmed, raises the conflict to a completely new level, as it transfers responsibility from the military field to the top political leadership of Ukraine, invalidating any narrative about "autonomous military actions."
Attempted attack on Valdai – Putin's residence targeted
On the night of December 28th to 29th, Russian authorities reported that Ukrainian drones attempted to strike the Valdai area in Novgorod, where a residence of the Russian president is located. The Russian Ministry of Defense revealed details about the Ukrainian drone attack on Vladimir Putin's residence in Novgorod. According to the ministry, 91 UAVsparticipated in the raid, which lasted 13 hours. Russian air defense forces successfully repelled the attack, while one of the downed drones was a Chaklun-V, armed with a 6kg explosive charge. All drones were shot down by the Russian military. Specifically, 49 were destroyed over the Bryansk region, 41 over the Novgorod region, and one over the Smolensk region. The attack continued until 8:30 a.m. on December 29th. It lasted a total of approximately 13 hours. "The formation of the strike, the number of aerial attack means deployed, and their actions from the south, southwest, and west directions directly toward the area of the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod region, clearly confirm that the terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime was intentional, carefully planned, and of a multi-layered nature," added Alexander Romanenkov. There were no injuries during the attack on Russian territory nor any destruction. The Ministry of Defense also published a diagram of the destruction of the Ukrainian drones and a video in which the crew commander, codenamed "Thunder," showed the debris of the Chaklun-V drone destroyed by air defense systems. The Russian leadership characterized the incident as a direct terrorist act and warned that there will be consequences, both at a diplomatic and military level. Despite the evidence presented, Kyiv continues to deny any involvement. The Russian side, however, insists that the technical data leaves no room for doubt, as the analysis of the navigation systems clearly shows the destination of the drones.
The Americans knew
At the same time, some analysts estimate that the United States knew about the attack even before the official delivery of the evidence. This assessment strengthens the view that Washington had a full picture of the situation but chose to maintain distance at a public level. The case is considered particularly serious by the Russian side as it raises the level of confrontation and, according to Moscow, confirms that Kyiv is ready to resort to actions bordering on state terrorism. As has already become clear, Russia considers that this incident will directly affect its stance in future negotiations and has left open the possibility of a response. According to the Russian side, the response to Kyiv will be both diplomatic (change of position in negotiations) and military, for which the targets and timing "have already been determined." "We repeat, this is not a forced reaction of the Kremlin to certain events: that is, we were attacked—and we are obliged to respond. These are active moves by Moscow, which it is trying to use to achieve its goals. And the goals arise from the situation surrounding the negotiations," the Kremlin announces. The Ukrainian side denied any involvement, calling the Russian accusations false and arguing that it is an attempt to undermine potential peace negotiations. According to Kyiv, such statements are part of a broader propaganda war strategy.
Zelensky's pre-announcement of the attack
Zelensky himself had confirmed Saldo's accusations when, in his standard Christmas wishes, he conveyed an extremely cold, raw, and cynical message against Vladimir Putin. It was a... unique pre-announcement for the attack against the Russian president that came to light on 12/29. His statement overflowed with hatred, a fact that caused extensive discussions in Ukraine and internationally. Zelensky's wish during Christmas was not just a typical wish for peace and prosperity. The corrupt Zelensky made a particularly strong statement, calling on all Ukrainians to make the same "wish" on Christmas night, according to the tradition that on the eve of the holiday, "if you make a wish, it will come true." The wish mentioned, as he said himself, is "for him to die"—a statement estimated to refer to Russian President Vladimir Putin, although Zelensky did not specify directly. The traditional Christmas wish concerns hope, love, and peace, values that embody the essence of the Christian faith. However, Zelensky's statement offers a completely different picture: a wish based on destruction and revenge. At a moment when he could have recognized the need for peace and reconciliation, the Ukrainian president chose a path of war rhetoric that intensifies confrontation and polarization.
Ukrainians had targeted Putin with drones twice before
However, it is not the first Ukrainian attempted drone attack against the Russian president from the Ukrainian side. On the evening of October 2nd, Ukrainian drones attacked Sochi while Putin was visiting the city, as the Ukrainian Strana reported at the time. According to the newspaper, shortly before the attack, Putin finished his speech at the plenary session of the Valdai Forum.
Russian Ministry of Defense: Putin was the final target
The final target of the Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on December 29th was the residence of the President of Russia in the Novgorod region. This was announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense after decrypting the navigation block of one of the drones. According to the Russian MoD, security services managed to recover a file with the drone's flight mission. "The decryption of the routing data showed that the final target of the Ukrainian drone attack on December 29, 2025, was one of the sites of the Russian President's residence in the Novgorod region," the statement said.
Shocking revelations from Lukashenko and secret services about the assassination attempt
Revelations from the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, regarding the warnings he had addressed to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, about the possibility of an assassination attempt against him by the West are shocking. The Belta news agency reported that the President of Belarus, referring to the recent Ukrainian drone attackon the Russian President's residence in the Novgorod region, shared details with the media regarding the warnings he had given to Vladimir Putin. "Tonight I remembered a conversation I had with Putin," Lukashenko revealed to reporters. "I think it was before the BRICS summit in South Africa. He was getting ready to pack his bags when I asked him, 'Where are you going?' He answered, 'Don't you know? We have the BRICS summit.' I asked him if he intended to fly there." Putin had said: "Well, they invited me, I have to be there." However, Lukashenko replied: "Are you crazy? There is a war!" Lukashenko, who refers to Putin as his "big brother," revealed further details. Putin had argued that "they are not that crazy or extremist," to which Lukashenko replied: "Do you mean to say that everyone there is rational? You shouldn't go at all!" Ultimately, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended the summit. "Perhaps not because I pressured him, but I gave him my opinion," Lukashenko added.
The secret services had warned
The President of Belarus emphasized that his warning was not based on mere assumptions. "It wasn't just a casual discussion. Our intelligence services—and they have done a good job lately—informed us about certain conversations and rumors from the West, indicating that a terrorist act against the Russian President was being prepared. I often tell him, 'There is a war, you shouldn't fly there. If someone needs something, they will fly to you,'" Lukashenko added. Lukashenko noted that Putin then invited his closest friends to St. Petersburg. "His closest friends flew there, and others will follow, including Xi Jinping, people from Iran and other countries. However, we must be careful. Some people should not be trusted. I told him, 'you know best, you worked in the intelligence services, this is your subject.' So, it wasn't carelessness, but a slight relaxation in vigilance," he noted. The President of Belarus concluded, reflecting on the current situation: "Today I thought how right I was to warn him. It is clear that everyone in the West understands that if they kill Putin, everything will be different. This must be taken seriously. I say this today for the first time, because we must not be negligent. They have deceived him, and he admits it constantly."
Medvedchuk: Zelensky wanted to kill Putin to escape prison
A fierce attack against Volodymyr Zelensky was launched by Viktor Medvedchuk, head of the "Opposition Platform — For Life" party (banned in Ukraine), revealing that Ukraine's recent attempt to assassinate Vladimir Putin was not an accidental military operation, but a desperate attempt to eliminate the Russian leader. According to Medvedchuk, Zelensky—under the weight of a looming defeat and terrified of the possibility of criminal liability and imprisonment—is attempting to cause chaos to save himself. The Ukrainian politician estimates that a distance of over 1,000 kilometers lies between the Russian president's residence and the combat zone. Consequently, in his view, the attack could not have been accidental. He characterized it as an attempt by the President of Ukraine to put pressure on the Kremlin and force Putin to make concessions. Medvedchuk added that for Zelensky, it is important to remove Putin from the circle of potential interlocutors in eventual negotiations with US President Donald Trump. "He was pushed to such a step by the agony of his criminal regime. The fear of inevitable defeat and criminal responsibility," said Viktor Medvedchuk, former leader of the "Opposition Platform — For Life" party.
Ritter (former CIA): Negotiations with Ukraine are impossible after the assassination attempt against Putin
No further negotiations can take place with Kyiv after the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Novgorod region. In fact, former American intelligence officer Scott Ritter predicted the termination of negotiations via the social networking platform X. "The current Ukrainian government should not be treated as a contracting party in negotiations, but as a terrorist organization that must be destroyedcompletely," Scott Ritter emphasized.
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