- Russia’s GRU military intelligence says it has proof of a Ukrainian drone strike.
- According to Russia, the target was President Putin’s residence complex in the Novgorod region.
- Russia has released a video of it handing over data to the US military attache.
- Reports from the American agencies CIA and NSA do not confirm the attack on the residence.
Director of Russian military intelligence GRU Igor Kostyukov says he handed over to the US military attaché on Thursday a part of a Ukrainian drone containing data proving the Ukrainian military launched an attack targeting the Russian president’s residence this week Vladimir Putin. TASR informs about it according to a Reuters report.
The Russian Ministry of Defense published a video on the Telegram platform showing Kostyukov allegedly handing over the control mechanism of a drone found among the downed debris.
“The decryption of the contents of the memory of the drone’s navigation system, carried out by experts of the Russian special services, confirms that the target of the attack was the complex of buildings of the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod region,” said Kostyukov. “We assume that this measure will remove all questions and allow the truth to be established,” he added.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey informed about the alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Putin’s residence near the city of Valdai in the Novgorod region Lavrov, who called it an attempted “terrorist attack”. Lavrov claimed that on the night of December 28-29, Ukraine sent 91 long-range drones to Putin’s residence, however, they were all destroyed by Russian air defense. According to Lavrov, Moscow will react to this attack, while also reassessing its position in the peace negotiations, from which it will not withdraw.
Ukraine rejects Russia’s claims of an attack on Putin’s residence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of trying to sabotage the peace talks. He called the attack on Putin’s residence a fabrication, which aims to justify further attacks against Ukraine, as well as Russia’s refusal to take the necessary steps to end the war.
