Elena Teslova
01 January 2026•Update: 01 January 2026
MOSCOW
Russia said on Thursday it handed to the US side evidence that Ukraine's alleged drone attack carried out this week targeted President Vladimir Putin's residence in the Novgorod region.
The Defense Ministry published on Telegram a video showing a meeting of Igor Kostykov, the chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff, and a representative of the US military attache office in Moscow.
"I am Igor Kostyukov, chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. I have invited you for an important matter. I would like to inform you that we have found the debris of unmanned aerial vehicles involved in this attack," said the Russian military official opening the meeting.
He showed the US military representative a device, adding that several drones shot down during the attack had their navigation system well-preserved.
"In several of these drones, the navigation systems are well-preserved and technically functional. The decoding of the content of the memory of the navigation controllers of these drones, carried out by specialists of the Russian special services, unequivocally and accurately confirmed that the target of the attack was the complex of buildings of the residence of the President of the Russian Federation in the Novgorod region," he said.
Kostykov then handed the device to the US representative, saying: "We want to hand over this controller and the description of this controller made by our specialists to you. We believe that this step will help to remove all questions and contribute to the establishment of the truth."
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that Kyiv carried out an attack using 91 drones on Putin’s state residence in the Novgorod region on the night of Dec. 29. According to him, all drones were destroyed, and there were no reported casualties or damage from the wreckage.
Ukraine denies launching the attack and accuses Russia of trying to disrupt peace talks.
Commenting on the incident, US President Donald Trump had said it was "not good."
