MOSCOW, Jan 1 (Reuters) – Russia said on Thursday it had extracted and decoded a file from a Ukrainian drone downed earlier this week that it said shows it had been targeting a Russian presidential residence and that it would hand over the relevant information to the United States.
Moscow accused Kyiv on Monday of trying to strike a residence of President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s northern Novgorod region with 91 long-range attack drones. It said Russia would review its negotiating position in ongoing talks with the U.S. on ending the Ukraine war.
Ukraine and Western countries have disputed Russia’s account of the alleged attempted strike.
In a statement posted on Telegram on Thursday, Russia’s Defence Ministry said: “Decryption of routing data revealed that the final target of the Ukrainian drone attack on December 29, 2025, was a facility at the Russian Presidential Residence in the Novgorod region.”
“These materials will be transferred to the American side through the established channels,” it added.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that U.S. national security officials had found Ukraine did not target Putin or one of his residences in a drone strike. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
U.S. President Donald Trump initially expressed sympathy for the Russian charge, telling reporters on Monday that Putin had informed him of the alleged incident and that he was “very angry” about it.
By Wednesday, Trump appeared more sceptical, sharing on social media a New York Post editorial accusing Russia of blocking peace in Ukraine.
Ukraine has denied carrying out such an attack and described the accusation as part of a Russian disinformation campaign meant to drive a wedge between Kyiv and Washington after a weekend meeting between Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Felix LightEditing by Gareth Jones)
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