The Central Intelligence Agency of the United States has concluded that Ukraine did not carry out an attack on the residence of Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. According to American media reports, this was communicated to then-President Donald Trump during a classified briefing.
This is reported by Kyiv24
CIA Assessment and Trump’s Reaction
According to informed sources, CIA Director John Ratcliffe personally briefed Trump on the results of the agency’s internal investigation. Journalists note that Trump had previously received information from Putin during a phone call about an alleged attempt to attack his residence, after which he expressed his irritation at this report.
“Very angry” about this information
However, the next day, Trump expressed doubts about the credibility of the Kremlin’s statements, noting that he did not have sufficient evidence to support them. The CIA declined to comment on the situation, and the White House has not officially confirmed the occurrence of such a briefing at this time.
Russian Statements and International Community’s Reaction
On December 29, 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Ukraine attempted to attack Putin’s residence in Valdai using 91 drones. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense clarified these claims only in an evening report, specifying that it referred to 41 drones shot down over the Novgorod region in total, rather than directly over Putin’s residence.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Lavrov’s statements another falsehood aimed at justifying strikes on Ukraine. The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, stated that such statements from Russia are a deliberate distraction from real events.