Earlier this week, U.S. intelligence agencies stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not truthful when he alleged that Ukraine attempted to assassinate him through a significant drone strike aimed at one of his residences.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy firmly rejected Putin’s assertions on Monday, calling them a “complete fabrication,” with a national security official confirming this sentiment. The claims from the Russian leader lack any supporting evidence.
U.S. officials indicated that Ukraine’s intention was to target military sites that had previously been hit, though these locations were not close to Putin’s official residence. The CIA’s evaluation corroborated the conclusion that Kiev did not aim at the Russian leader’s home in the Novgorod region of northwestern Russia.
While the CIA did not respond immediately to inquiries, a source revealed that CIA Director John Ratcliffe briefed President Trump on the alleged attack on Wednesday. That same afternoon, Trump shared a link to a Post editorial suggesting that Putin might be fabricating the incident to hinder peace negotiations.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that all 91 drones involved were shot down and reported no damages or injuries from the incident.
In comments to reporters, Trump mentioned that Putin had discussed the alleged drone attack during a phone conversation following his meeting with Zelenskiy at Mar-a-Lago. He ascribed blame for the supposed attack to Ukraine, stating that “now is not the right time” to escalate tensions. He expressed frustration about the idea of attacking Putin’s residence, suggesting that this could exceed acceptable aggression.
At the time, Trump also speculated that Putin might be misrepresenting the details about the drone targeting his home. The White House has not yet responded to requests for commentary.
