Kyiv said Tuesday there was no “plausible” evidence it launched a drone attack on one of Vladimir Putin’s residences, accusing Moscow of peddling false claims to try to manipulate talks on ending its invasion.
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned a day earlier Russia was preparing the ground for an attack on Kyiv, calling on residents of the capital to be on alert.
Moscow on Monday said Ukraine had launched drones at Putin’s secluded home in the Novgorod region, between Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
The Kremlin said Tuesday it considered it a “terrorist act” and a “personal attack against Putin” — but added it could not provide evidence for its claim as the drones were “all shot down”.
It also said the Russian army had chosen “how, when and where” to retaliate against Ukraine.
Russia has hit Ukraine with an almost daily barrage of drones and missiles for almost four years, killing thousands.
The Kremlin also said it would now “toughen” its negotiating position in talks to end Europe’s worst conflict since WWII.
Kyiv stressed Moscow had provided no evidence, despite almost 24 hours transpiring since Russia made the claim.
“Almost a day passed and Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence,” its foreign minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media.
“And they won’t. Because there’s none. No such attack happened.”
European leaders rallied around Zelensky following Moscow’s allegation and — according to Poland — were set to discuss the war later on Tuesday.
“We are moving the peace process forward. Transparency and honesty are now required from everyone – including Russia,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on social media.
US President Donald Trump — who spoke to Putin on Monday — directed criticism at Kyiv on Monday, despite Ukraine calling the incident a Russian fabrication.
“You know who told me about it? President Putin, early in the morning, he said he was attacked. It’s no good,” Trump said.
“It’s one thing to be offensive because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house,” the US leader said.
Russia has not said where Putin was at the time.
The longtime Russian leader’s residences are shrouded in secrecy in Russia — as is much of his private life.
– Secretive residence –
The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last year, had published investigations into Putin’s luxury lake-side residence in the Novgorod region.
Putin had increasingly used the residency since the Ukraine war began, as it was more secluded and better protected by air defence installations, according to an investigation by RFE/RL.
Russia’s claim came after Zelensky held talks with Trump in Florida, with the Ukrainian leader saying it was a “fabrication” intended to sabotage diplomatic progress made by the US and Kyiv.
Moscow’s allegation comes at a pivotal moment for diplomacy to end the war.
Ukraine has said it has agreed to 90 percent of a US-drafted peace plan, but Russia has been hesitant to accept a deal that does not meet its maximalist demands.
Putin has repeatedly said that Russia intends to seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian if diplomacy fails.
Russia’s advance in eastern Ukraine picked up pace in autumn, with Moscow’s troops seizing more villages with every week since.
Ukraine on Tuesday also ordered the mandatory evacuation of several villages in the northern Chernigiv region, which borders Moscow-allied Belarus, due to intense Russian shelling.