Trump shows distance Russia hands over "evidence" of an attack to the USA - doubts remain
Russia has provided the USA with alleged evidence of a Ukrainian drone attack on a residence of President Vladimir Putin. But Western intelligence agencies doubt the account - and Donald Trump is also publicly distancing himself.
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- Russia handed over navigation data from a downed drone to the USA, which is said to indicate an attack on Putin's residence.
- Ukraine rejects the accusations, while Western services consider the Russian version to be unconvincing.
- US President Donald Trump publicly distanced himself from the Kremlin leader.
Russia has handed over material to the USA that allegedly proves a planned Ukrainian drone attack on President Vladimir Putin. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that navigation data had been decoded on a drone that had been shot down, revealing a route in the direction of the so-called Valdai residence in the Novgorod region. The alleged attack is said to have taken place on 29 December 2025 and was prevented by Russian air defenses.
A video released by Moscow shows the head of the Russian military intelligence service GRU, Igor Kostyukov, handing over data printouts and a component of the drone to a representative of the US military attaché in Moscow. Russia did not disclose the names or functions of the US representatives. Kostyukov spoke of "unequivocal" evidence of a planned attack on Putin's residence.
Kiev reacted immediately and described the accusations as Russian disinformation. The Ukrainian military intelligence service explained that Moscow was using such accusations to justify its own attacks on Ukrainian targets. Skepticism also prevails in Western intelligence circles.
Trump is more cautious than before
According to reports from several US media outlets, the CIA has come to a different conclusion. According to them, the flight data presented by Russia did not point to Putin's residence, but rather to military infrastructure west of Novgorod. A misinterpretation or deliberate manipulation of the data cannot be ruled out.
President Donald Trump was also informed of the incident via the US embassy in Moscow. The Kremlin stated that Putin had personally informed Trump of the alleged attack. At the same time, Moscow emphasized that it wanted to continue the talks initiated by Trump about a possible end to the war in Ukraine - albeit with a "tougher stance" towards Kiev.
Trump himself has recently been much more reserved. On his Truth Social platform, he linked to an editorial accusing Russia of standing in the way of a peace solution. In doing so, the US President publicly distanced himself from Putin's narrative.
Circles close to the CIA in Washington spoke of a "not credible" presentation. The published videos and maps showed evidence of subsequent editing. Although it is undisputed that Ukraine also attacks targets on Russian territory during the war, it remains unclear whether Putin's residence was the target.
