ISW finds no evidence of drone attack on Putin's Valdai residence
There is no evidence in open sources that Ukrainian drones attacked the residence of Russian President Wladimir Putin in Valdai. This is stated in the report of the Institute for the Study of War, published on the night of 30 December. This was reported by The Public with reference to DW.
Analysts note that confirmed strikes by Ukraine on Russian territory are usually accompanied by videos of air defence, explosions or fires, as well as reports from local authorities or regional media. In the case of the Valdai residence, there is no such material. In addition, local residents of the Novgorod region did not report any air defence activity or explosions on the night of 29 December
The ISW also drew attention to the inconsistency of the Russian side's statements. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke of allegedly 89 or 91 downed Ukrainian drones, while the Russian Ministry of Defence initially reported 18 drones and later increased this figure to 23. This difference, according to analysts, undermines the credibility of the Kremlin's official version
Russian independent media also reported that at least 14 residents of the town of Valdai interviewed had not received any alerts about the threat of a drone attack and had not heard any distinctive sounds at the time in question
The Ukrainian side categorically rejected Moscow's accusations. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga called the Russian statements a fake and part of an information campaign. According to them, Russia can use this topic to put pressure on the negotiation process and try to justify new strikes on Ukraine
