By Jack Phillips
Ukrainian forces attempted to strike Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in the Russian city of Novgorod on Dec. 29, prompting the Kremlin to reassess its position on peace talks, the country’s foreign minister said.
Kyiv used 91 drones to target Putin’s residence in the region, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state-run news agency TASS.
All drones were destroyed, he said. It was not immediately clear whether Putin was in the building at the time.
“Such reckless actions will not go unanswered,” Lavrov said, adding that the alleged attack amounted to “state terrorism.” He said that Ukrainian targets had already been selected for retaliatory strikes by Russia’s armed forces.
Lavrov noted that the alleged attack took place during negotiations about a possible Ukrainian peace deal and that while Russia would not leave the negotiations, Moscow’s position will be reviewed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Lavrov’s claims were a lie and that Moscow was preparing the ground to strike government buildings in Kyiv.
Lavrov’s assertions came as Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend
“We had a substantive discussion on all issues, and we much appreciate the progress achieved by American and Ukrainian teams in recent weeks,” the Ukrainian leader said in a post on X.
“Special thanks to [U.S. special envoy] Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for their engagement and full commitment, as well as to our team.”
Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law, is an unofficial adviser.
Zelenskyy added: “We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework and achieved significant results. We also discussed the sequence of further actions. We agreed that security guarantees are key on the path to achieving a lasting peace, and our teams will continue working on all aspects.”
Trump said on Sunday that a Russia–Ukraine peace deal is now “a lot closer” but that thorny issues remain.
“Some of that land has been taken,” Trump told reporters, referring to territory captured during the war. “Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months, and you are better off making a deal now.”
Earlier on Sunday, the president wrote on Truth Social that he also had a “good and very productive telephone call” with Putin before his talks with Zelenskyy.
However, Zelenskyy told reporters that two main issues in a 20-point peace proposal remain unresolved: control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, which is in Russian hands, and the fate of the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine.
On Sunday, he also noted that Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have hampered peace efforts.
“These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year right now, and a lot can be decided before the New Year,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“We are doing everything toward this, but whether decisions will be made depends on our partners—those who help Ukraine, and those who put pressure on Russia so that Russians feel the consequences of their own aggression.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
