Russian foreign minister says without evidence that Ukrainian drones attacked Putin’s Valdai residence

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said without evidence on Monday that Ukrainian drones had carried out an attack on Vladimir Putin’s Valdai residence in Russia’s Novgorod region.

According to Lavrov, Russian air defense forces shot down 91 drones. He did not indicate whether the purported attack caused any damage or casualties, but he said Moscow would carry out retaliatory strikes and revise its negotiating position in talks on ending its war against Ukraine.

“We draw attention to the fact that this action was carried out during a period of intense negotiations between Russia and the U.S. on resolving the Ukrainian conflict,” Lavrov said.

Such reckless actions will not go unanswered. The targets of retaliatory strikes and their timing have been determined by the Russian Armed Forces. At the same time, we do not intend to withdraw from the negotiation process with the United States. However, taking into account the final transformation of the criminal Kyiv regime, which has shifted to a policy of state terrorism, Russia’s negotiating positions will be revised.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied that Ukraine had carried out such an attack, according to Ukrainska Pravda:

Another lie from Russia. It’s clear that I met with Trump yesterday, and it’s clear that for the Russians, if there’s not a scandal between Ukraine and the U.S., and we’re making progress, that’s a failure for them.

He said Russia was using the allegation to lay the groundwork for strikes on Ukrainian government buildings in Kyiv.