According to media reports, the US intelligence agency CIA has concluded that one of Ukraine’s most recent drone strikes did not target Russian President Vladimir Putin or his residence.
01/01/2026, 03:4101/01/2026, 03:41
This was reported by the “Wall Street Journal” as well as the broadcasters PBS and CNN, citing unnamed US government representatives.
CIA chief John Ratcliffe.Image: keystone
The US foreign intelligence service thus contradicts serious allegations made by Moscow on Monday. Initially, President Donald Trump also criticized Ukraine for the alleged attack after a conversation with Putin.
Kyiv has vehemently denied attacking any of Putin’s residences. Ukraine saw this as a Russian pretext for continuing the war despite ongoing negotiations for a peace solution and for wanting to attack government buildings in Kiev again.
Russia presented possible evidence of the attack for the first time on Wednesday, including the remains of a suspected Ukrainian drone. Many experts doubt that the attack described by Russia took place.
Trump briefed on findings by CIA chief
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials, that the controversial Ukrainian drone strike was aimed at a military target in the same region as Putin’s residence – although not near the property. This is also proven by a CIA analysis, it said.
The PBS and CNN channels reported that Trump was briefed on Wednesday by CIA chief John Ratcliffe about the secret service’s findings. On the same day (local time), the US President surprisingly shared an article that was very critical of Russia on his Truth Social platform. In the piece, the tabloid “New York Post” portrays Putin as the real hurdle on the road to peace and takes him seriously.
According to Russian media, the claimed target is Putin’s Valdai residence, which is located in the Novgorod region between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Putin is said to often spend his weekends there with his family. But the Kremlin guards his private life like a state secret.
Moscow spoke of a “terrorist attack” on Putin’s residence
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on Monday of an attempted “terrorist attack”. He spoke of 91 Ukrainian drones with longer ranges that Russia’s air defense had shot down. Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, later said that the Kremlin chief had informed Trump about this in a phone call after there was an attempted drone strike by Ukraine against his presidential residence in the Novgorod region. The Kremlin hopes that the USA will understand that Russia is now reconsidering its position in the negotiations.
Ushakov did not name the residence or say whether Putin was there on Monday night. Residences are available for the Russian president in many parts of the largest country in the world. Outside of Moscow, Putin often stays in St. Petersburg and in Sochi on the Black Sea.
For almost four years, Ukraine has been defending itself with Western help against a war of aggression against its neighboring country ordered by Putin. (sda/dpa/con)
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