The Kremlin has officially announced that Russia will reassess its negotiating stance following what Moscow describes as a Ukrainian drone attack on a presidential residence. The announcement came after President Putin discussed the alleged incident with Donald Trump, signaling potential complications for peace initiatives.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had earlier accused Ukraine of launching 91 long-range drones at Putin’s state residence in Novgorod region during December 28-29. He characterized the alleged operation as reckless state terrorism and confirmed that despite successful interception of all drones by air defense systems, the incident would influence Moscow’s diplomatic approach. The Kremlin’s subsequent announcement formalized this position.
President Zelensky dismissed Russian allegations as fabricated propaganda, arguing that Moscow’s announced reassessment demonstrated that Russia was seeking pretexts to alter its negotiating position regardless of actual events. He suggested that the alleged incident was being used to justify predetermined changes to Russia’s diplomatic stance. Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine remains committed to peace processes.
The Kremlin statement indicated that Putin had communicated Russia’s need to reconsider its approach during his conversation with Trump. This high-level discussion elevated the controversy beyond Foreign Ministry statements to direct presidential engagement. Russian authorities suggested that the alleged attack required fundamental recalculation of Moscow’s willingness to compromise in negotiations.
Zelensky called on the international community to recognize that Russia’s announced reassessment revealed Moscow’s strategy of using manufactured crises to justify diplomatic backtracking. He warned that allowing Russian allegations to succeed in altering negotiating dynamics would encourage similar tactics in future. The Ukrainian president referenced Moscow’s history of attacking Ukrainian government facilities as evidence that Russia itself engages in the very conduct it now uses as justification for changing its negotiating stance. He stressed that maintaining progress toward peace requires rejecting Russian attempts to reset diplomatic parameters based on unsubstantiated allegations.