On Thursday, January 1, 2025, a top Russian military leader gave a U.S. military attaché what he claimed was a portion of a Ukrainian drone that contained information proving the Ukrainian military had attacked a Russian presidential home this week.
Russia’s description of the purported attempted strike has been contested by Ukraine and Western nations.
Admiral Igor Kostyukov, chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces, was seen in a video released on the Russian Defense Ministry’s Telegram channel giving the U.S. an attachment that he characterized as the controlling mechanism of a drone discovered among downed debris.
According to Mr. Kostyukov, “the decryption of the content of the memory of the navigation controller of the drones carried out by specialists of Russia’s special services confirms without question that the target of the attack was the complex of buildings of the Russian president’s residence in Novgorod region.”
“We assume that this measure will eliminate any doubts and enable the establishment of the truth.”
The Ministry had already announced on Telegram that the United States will receive its findings.
According to a Wall Street Journal story published on Wednesday, U.S. national security officials discovered that Ukraine had not launched a drone strike against Putin or one of his homes. Reuters was unable to confirm the report right away.
At first, U.S. President Donald Trump sympathized with the Russian accusation, telling reporters on Monday that Putin had told him about the alleged incident and that he was “extremely angry” about it.
By Wednesday, Mr. Trump seemed more doubtful, posting an editorial from the New York Post on social media that accused Russia of obstructing peace in Ukraine.
Following a weekend meeting between Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine has denied carrying out such an attack and characterized the charge as part of a Russian disinformation effort intended to build a wedge between Kyiv and Washington.
