“I’m not sure that this attack actually took place,” Trump told reporters.
He added that “something happened in comparative proximity, but it’s not related to this attack.”
Earlier, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of using 91 drones in an attempt to strike Putin's residence in the Novgorod region. However, as reported by the WSJ, the CIA determined that Ukrainian forces were not targeting the Russian president or his residence. They aimed to hit a military facility located in the same region, but not near the residence.
The attack on Putin's state residence in the Novgorod region was carried out by Ukrainian authorities on the night of December 29, 2025, as stated by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who reported this earlier.
Additionally, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported finding a flight mission file extracted from a downed Ukrainian drone on December 29 that was heading towards Putin's residence. This data was shared with the American side.
