Russia releases video of drone attack on Putin residence, blames Ukraine

Moscow: Blaming Ukraine for attacking President Vladimir Putin's residence, Russia on Wednesday released video footage of a downed drone, which it claimed was involved in the incident.

The video comes after Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack on Monday. Putin’s presidential residence in the Novgorod region was reportedly with 91 long-range attack drones. Ukraine has denied its involvement in the incident.

What did the Russian government say?

The video was published by Russia's defence ministry and reportedly showed the damaged drone which allegedly attacked Putin's residence earlier this week, lying in the snow in a forested region.
 The Russian defence ministry claimed that the alleged attack was a targeted incident which was carefully planned by Ukraine and carried out in stages.  The Kremlin had earlier admitted that Russia could not provide evidence to backing its claim of involvement by Ukraine because the drones were “all shot down.”

The Kremlin has announced that Russia considers the alleged drone attack on Putin's residence in the Novgorod region to be a terrorist act and a personal attack on the Russian president.

What is Ukraine’s stand?

Ukraine has denied allegations of involvement in the attack. On Tuesday, Kyiv had said that there was no “plausible” evidence of its involvement in the attack on one of Putin's residences, with its allies also dismissing Russia's allegations.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier termed the allegations by Russia as “complete fabrication”, adding that he would meet allies on January 6 in France to renew bid for peace efforts.

Talking to the media on Tuesday, Zelensky echoed similar sentiments, repeating his claim that the attack had been faked and urged verification of Russia’s claims. 

“Our negotiating team connected with the American team, they went through the details, and we understand that it's fake,” Zelensky was quoted as saying.

How has the US reacted?

However, United States President Donald Trump had slammed Ukraine following Russia's claim. 

“You know who told me about it? President Putin, early in the morning, he said he was attacked. It's no good,” Trump told the media.