Kyiv denies Moscow’s accusation it targeted the Russian president’s residence.
BRUSSELS — Ukraine on Tuesday criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani and Emirati officials for supporting Russia’s claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s home had been attacked — an accusation Kyiv denies.
“Almost a day passed and Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence to its accusations of Ukraine’s alleged ‘attack on Putin’s residence.’ And they won’t. Because there’s none. No such attack happened,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X.
“We were disappointed and concerned to see the statements by Emirati, Indian, and Pakistani sides expressing their concerns regarding the attack that never happened,” he went on.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday accused Ukraine of launching 91 drones against Putin’s official residence in the Novgorod region, which lies between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Lavrov added that a Russian air defense system had shot the drones down.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the claim and accused Russia of derailing peace talks, following his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida Sunday.
“Russia is at it again, using dangerous statements to undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump’s team,” Zelenskyy said on Monday, calling the accusations “a complete fabrication intended to justify additional attacks against Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well as Russia’s own refusal to take necessary steps to end the war.”
France appeared to side with Zelenskyy’s version on Tuesday. In a statement, an aide to President Emmanuel Macron said Paris had found “no solid evidence to corroborate the serious accusations made by the Russian authorities, even after cross-checking the information with our partners.”
“The Russian authorities themselves are saying everything and its opposite about what really happened,” the statement added, portraying the accusations as an attempt by Moscow to undermine the peace process.
But Russia’s claim nonetheless triggered condemnation of the alleged attack from Russia-aligned countries and the United States.
The United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry said it “denounced this deplorable attack”, while Pakistani Prime Minister Shebhaz Sharif called it “a heinous act.” India’s Modi said he was “deeply concerned” by the alleged strike.
Trump said Putin had told him of the attack in a phone call.
“I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it,” the U.S. leader said.
“It’s a delicate period of time,” he added. “This is not the right time. It’s one thing to be offensive, because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that.”
Putin told Trump that Russia would have to reconsider its position in peace negotiations, dealing a blow to efforts in recent weeks by the U.S. and Ukraine. Following the Sunday meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in Florida, both parties hailed significant progress, with the U.S. offering Ukraine 15 years of security guarantees.
Victor Goury-Laffont contributed reporting.