Kremlin claims Ukraine 'attacks Putin's residence' - shortly after Trump hailed progress in peace talks
SOURCE:Daily Mail
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovsaid on Monday that Kyiv had attempted to attack President Putin's state residence in the Novgorod region.
The Kremlin has claimed that Ukraine attempted to attack Vladimir Putin's residence in a long-range drone attack hours after Donald Trump hailed progress in peace talks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Kyiv had attempted to attack President Putin's remote retreat in the Novgorod region and so Moscow's negotiating position would change, Interfax reported.
'Such reckless actions will not go unanswered,' Lavrov was quoted as saying, adding that the attack involved 91 long-range drones.
Zelensky has denied the claims, calling them 'lies'.
It was not immediately clear if Putin was in the residence at the time.
The attempted attack comes as the warring countries edge closer to signing a peace deal after almost four years of conflict.
Trump on Sunday celebrated the success of his highly anticipated peace talks with Zelensky, revealing they are 'very close' to striking an agreement on all but 'one or two thorny issues'.
The President had earlier welcomed the Ukrainian leader to his Mar-a-Lago estate with open arms when he arrived in Florida to discuss a 20-point plan aimed at ending the war with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's state residence in the Novgorod region was targetted in an attempted attack, the Kremlin claimed
Putin's state residence in the Novgorod region
Putin's state residence is situated in the western Russian town of Valdai, north of Moscow
Lavrov claimed that all of the long-range drones were destroyed by Russian air defences, no one was injured and there was no damage.
He said targets had already been selected for retaliatory strikes by Russia's armed forces and said the alleged attack amounted to 'state terrorism'.
Ukraine said the spurious accusations were an attempt to undermine peace talks, adding that Moscow was preparing the ground to strike government buildings in Kyiv.
'Another lie from the Russian Federation,' Zelensky told journalists.
'They're simply preparing the ground to carry out strikes, probably on the capital and probably on government buildings,' he said.
'Everyone needs to be alert now, absolutely everyone. A strike on the capital may be carried out, especially since this person [Putin]... said they will choose corresponding targets.'
The Kremlin said on Monday it agrees with US President Donald Trump that the Ukraine peace talks are in their 'final stage'.
Putin and Trump spoke on Sunday ahead of Trump's meeting in Miami with the Ukrainian President, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said another call was planned very soon.
Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the entrance to his Mar-a-Lago estate ahead of the highly-anticipated meeting between the two on Sunday
Zelensky and Trump admitted that they couldn't find middle ground on some of the most difficult issues, including future ownership of the Donbas region, Ukrainian territory which it has been fighting to protect throughout the war.
Addressing the media on Sunday, Trump said: 'We've made a lot of progress today, but really we've made it over the last month. This is not a one-day process deal. There's very complicated stuff.
Asked by journalists on Monday if Moscow agreed with Trump's optimistic assessment following the talks with the Ukrainian President, Peskov said: 'Of course.'
The alleged Ukrainian attack on Putin's state residence comes days after Zelensky appeared to wish for the Russian leader's death during his annual Christmas address.
'Today we all share one dream. And we make one wish, for all of us: may he perish,' the Ukrainian president said on Christmas day.
'We ask for peace for Ukraine. We fight for it. And we pray for it. And we deserve it. That every Ukrainian family may live in harmony,' Zelensky continued.
Putin's state residence is situated in the western Russian town of Valdai, north of Moscow.
Roughly halfway between the capital and St. Petersburg, the secret palace boasts a three-storey spa complex and has two floors hidden underground in a 75,350 square ft 'relaxation facility'.
The underground complex is replete with a cryo chamber for extreme cold therapy, a mud bath and a float pool.
The sprawling lakeside estate seen on drone footage includes a stable, golf course, mini-golf course, VIP restaurant with a cinema, bowling, billiard room and even a mini-casino.
The residence has multiple names, including Dolgiye Borody, or Long Beards.
It has been used in the past by Josef Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Boris Yeltsin and Putin.
The Russian leader has increasingly favoured the forested Valdai retreat amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and rising drone attacks on Russian targets.
The sprawling lakeside estate seen on drone footage includes a stable, golf course, mini-golf course, VIP restaurant with a cinema
Two floors are hidden underground replete with a cryo chamber for extreme cold therapy, and a mud bath, in a 75,350 square ft relaxation facility
Putin on Monday told his army to press on with a campaign to take full control of the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine after a Russian commander said Moscow's forces were 9.3 miles from its biggest city.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Monday that Russia sees Britain's influence in what he called Ukraine's latest 'provocations' aimed at disrupting peace process, state news agency TASS reported.
Shortly after accusing Kyiv of the attempted attack, the White House said Trump had a 'positive' call with his Russian counterpart
'President Trump has concluded a positive call with President Putin concerning Ukraine,' Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X, shortly after Moscow said it would 'revise' its negotiating position on ending the war.
Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Putin informed Trump about the alleged drone attack on the Russian presidential residence during the call, and its impact on the peace talks.
Asked by reporters on Sunday what thorny issues remain unsolved on the road to peace, Trump said: 'I think the land you're talking about, some of that land has been taken.
'Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months, and you're better off making a deal.'
The White House is offering Ukraine security guarantees for a period of 15 years as part of a proposed ceasefire deal, the Ukrainian President said Monday.
Zelensky added that he would prefer an American commitment of up to 50 years to deter Russia from further attempts to seize its neighbour's land by force, however.
Following discussions on Sunday, negotiators are still searching for a breakthrough on key issues, including whose forces withdraw from where and the fate of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the 10 biggest in the world.
Trump noted that the monthslong US-led negotiations could still collapse. 'In a few weeks, we will know one way or the other, I think.... But it could also go poorly,' he told reporters.
'Without security guarantees, realistically, this war will not end,' Zelensky told journalists in voice messages responding to questions sent via a WhatsApp chat.
Ukraine has been fighting Russia since 2014, when it illegally annexed Crimea and Moscow-backed separatists took up arms in the Donbas, a vital industrial region in eastern Ukraine.
Details of the proposed security guarantees have not become public but Zelensky said Monday that they include how a peace deal would be monitored as well as the 'presence' of partners.
He didn't elaborate, but Russia has said it won't accept the deployment in Ukraine of troops from NATO countries.
Trump said he would consider extending US security guarantees for Ukraine beyond 15 years, according to Zelensky.
The guarantees would be approved by the US Congress as well as by parliaments in other countries involved in overseeing any settlement, he said.
Zelensky said he wants the 20-point peace plan under discussion to be approved by Ukrainians in a national referendum.
However, holding a ballot requires a ceasefire of at least 60 days, and Moscow has shown no willingness for a truce without a full settlement.
When Trump was asked about what the timeline for the end of the war could look like, he noted there are still several hurdles on the road to peace.
'In a few weeks, we will know one way or the other,' he said. 'We could have something where one item that you're not thinking about is a big item and breaks it up.'
He admitted 'it has been a very difficult negotiation, very detailed'.
America's revised 20-point plan includes security guarantees to protect Ukraine from future invasions by Moscow - primarily through Ukrainian membership in the EU, and maintaining a peacetime army of 800,000 troops funded by Western allies.
However, Trump snapped at a reporter who asked about the security guarantees moments before he went into the meeting with Zelensky.
'What a stupid question,' he fumed. 'Nobody even knows what the security agreement is going to state. There will be a security agreement. It will be a strong agreement. The European nations are very much involved.'
Ukraine's foreign minister urged world leaders on Monday to condemn Russian 'manipulations' about the alleged Ukrainian attack on Putin's residence, saying Moscow was seeking 'false justification' for further strikes on its neighbour.
'Usual Russian tactic: Accuse the other side of what you are doing or planning yourself,' Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X.
'First, Russia has already struck the Ukrainian government building this year.
'Second, 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. We urge 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.'
Zelensky said the Russian accusations were 'fake' and that he had discussed the matter with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
'According to the Americans, during these negotiations the American side aggressively pursued the idea of the need for Kyiv to take real steps towards a final settlement of the conflict, not to hide behind demands for a temporary ceasefire,' Kremlin foreign policy aide Ushakov told reporters on a conference call.
Ushakov said that the Russian side feared that the ideas put forward by Ukraine to the Americans could still be interpreted too broadly by Kyiv.
Trump had been shocked when Putin told him that Ukraine had attacked a presidential residence in Novgorod, Ushakov said.
'Russia's position will be reviewed on a number of agreements reached at the previous stage and on the emerging interchanges,' Ushakov said. 'This was stated very clearly.'