Prospects for a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine were dealt a fresh setback after Russia accused Kyiv of attempting to attack a residence linked to President Vladimir Putin, an allegation Ukraine dismissed as baseless and designed to sabotage peace efforts.
Moscow said on Monday it was reviewing its negotiating stance following what it described as a failed Ukrainian drone attack on one of Putin’s residences in northern Russia.
The claim, made without publicly presented evidence, was rejected by Ukrainian officials as a fabrication intended to justify further Russian strikes and derail diplomatic momentum.
The exchange came a day after United States President Donald Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida, where Trump said the two sides were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the conflict, while acknowledging that “thorny” territorial issues remained unresolved.
Putin struck a defiant tone on Monday, instructing his military to press ahead with operations aimed at securing full control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while the Kremlin reiterated demands for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from remaining areas of the Donbas still under Kyiv’s control.
According to a Kremlin aide, Putin raised the alleged attack in a phone call with Trump, saying Russia was reassessing its position following the reported incident.
Trump later told reporters that he had no independent information about the alleged strike.
“It’s one thing to be offensive,” Trump said. “It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that. And I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it.”
Despite his reaction, Trump described the call as constructive. “We have a couple of issues that we’re going to get resolved, hopefully, and if we get them resolved, you’re going to have peace,” he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov alleged that Ukraine attempted to attack Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region, west of Moscow, on 28–29 December using 91 long-range drones, all of which he said were intercepted by Russian air defences.
He said there were no injuries or damage.
“Such reckless actions will not go unanswered,” Lavrov said, describing the alleged incident as “state terrorism” and adding that targets had already been selected for retaliatory strikes by Russia’s armed forces.
Lavrov did not present evidence to support his claims, and it was unclear where Putin was at the time of the alleged attack. He said the incident occurred amid peace negotiations and that while Russia would review its stance, it would not abandon the talks.
Kyiv firmly rejected the accusations. Zelenskyy said Russia was laying the groundwork for new attacks on Ukrainian cities and seeking to undermine progress made in recent U.S.–Ukrainian discussions.
“Another round of lies from the Russian Federation,” Zelenskyy told reporters via WhatsApp.
“It is clear that we had a meeting with Trump yesterday, and it is clear that for the Russians, if there is no scandal between us and America, and we are making progress – for them it is a failure, because they do not want to end this war.”
He added: “I am sure they are simply preparing the ground for strikes, probably on the capital, probably on government buildings.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on social media that the alleged attack was a fabrication intended to create a pretext for further Russian aggression and to weaken the peace process. He called on world leaders to condemn Moscow’s accusations.
Zelenskyy said that during talks with Trump on Sunday, the two sides had outlined a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine.
Trump said the plan was about 95% complete, while Zelenskyy later said he was seeking a 50-year security arrangement.
Trump also indicated that European countries were expected to assume a significant role in Ukraine’s security, with U.S. backing, although Russia has said any foreign troop deployments would be unacceptable.
Territorial disputes remain central to the impasse. Zelenskyy said two key issues in a 20-point peace proposal were still unresolved: control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, currently held by Russia, and the future of the Donbas region.
Russia controls roughly a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, as well as large parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, all of which are internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory.
Moscow has demanded that Ukrainian forces withdraw from areas of the Donetsk region it has failed to fully occupy, while Kyiv has called for a ceasefire along current front lines.
