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CIA Finds No Evidence Ukraine Struck Putin’s Residence, Contradicting Putin’s Allegations
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
US officials have reported that the CIA assessed Ukraine did not target a residence used by Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a recent drone strike in northern Russia, directly contradicting a claim made by Putin during a phone call with President Donald Trump.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe briefed Trump on the findings of this assessment on December 31, as reported by CNN on January 1.
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Russia had publicly accused Ukraine of attempting to strike Putin’s residence on Monday, with Putin telling Trump about it during their phone conversation. Trump initially expressed concern, seemingly accepting Putin's account, even though Ukraine denied any involvement in such an attack.
“I don’t like it. It’s not good,” Trump remarked, expressing his anger at the alleged action. However, he acknowledged it was “possible” the claim was false, stating, “But President Putin told me this morning it did.”
According to CNN, subsequent sources revealed that Ratcliffe briefed Trump, informing him that the CIA did not believe the attack occurred. Later, Trump seemed to take a more skeptical stance, sharing a link to a New York Post editorial on Truth Social with the headline, “Putin ‘attack’ bluster shows Russia is the one standing in the way of peace.”
The editorial criticized Putin’s outrage over violence in his proximity, pointing out that “Any attack on Putin is more than justified.”
The editorial continued, “But here’s the rub: The drone strike likely never happened. [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy vigorously denied it. [Kremlin spokesman Dmitry] Peskov said the Russians could provide no evidence, and urged the press to ‘take the Kremlin’s word for it. No, we won’t.”
Putin’s claim of an attack, followed by the US assessment that it was likely untrue, emerged amid ongoing discussions led by Trump and his team to end the war in Ukraine, as reported by CNN. The Russian allegation came a day after Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago, where they expressed optimism about progress toward peace negotiations.
Some European officials viewed the claim as an attempt by Putin to disrupt peace efforts, while others saw it as a deliberate diversion. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, called it a “deliberate distraction.”
Earlier, experts from the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based nonprofit research organization, stated that they found no evidence to corroborate the claims made by Russia's foreign minister that Ukrainian drones targeted a residence used by Russian leader Vladimir Putin near Valdai in Russia’s Novgorod region.
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