Moscow (Reuters) – Russia said on Thursday it had extracted and decoded a file from a Ukrainian drone shot down earlier this week that it said showed the target was a Russian presidential residence and would hand over the relevant information to the United States.
Moscow accused Kiev on Monday of trying to target President Vladimir Putin’s residence in Russia’s northern Novgorod region with 91 long-range attack drones. Russia said it would review its negotiating position in ongoing talks with the US on ending the war in Ukraine.
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Ukraine and Western countries disputed Russia’s account of the alleged attempted attack.
In a statement published on Telegram on Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said: “Decryption of routing data revealed that the final target of the Ukrainian drone attack on December 29, 2025 was a facility at the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod region.”
“These materials will be transferred to the North American side through established channels,” he added.
O Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that U.S. national security officials concluded that Ukraine did not target Putin or one of his residences in a drone strike. THE Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
US President Donald Trump initially expressed sympathy for the Russian accusation, telling reporters on Monday that Putin had informed him about the alleged incident and that he was “very angry” about it.
On Wednesday, Trump appeared more skeptical, sharing on social media a New York Post editorial accusing Russia of blocking peace in Ukraine.
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Ukraine has denied carrying out such an attack and described the accusation as part of a Russian disinformation campaign aimed at driving a wedge between Kiev and Washington following a weekend meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
