US President Donald Trump on Sunday refuted Russia's claims of Ukraine attacking Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence. While speaking with reporters on Air Force One, President Trump said that US officials have confirmed that Ukraine was not behind the targeting of Vladimir Putin's state residence, Euronews reported. President Putin's residence was allegedly struck by drone-borne bombs last week. Trump initially called the attack "deeply concerning."
Russia claimed attack
Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia, had claimed last week that Ukraine had launched a series of armed drones to target the Russian president's home in the northwestern Novgorod region. He had also said that Russian air defence systems were successful in intercepting the airborne weapons. The minister had criticised the Zelenskyy administration for attacking Putin's residence when diplomatic channels were working at full capacity to stop the conflict between the two nations.
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The allegation surfaced a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Florida to meet former US President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, where they discussed the still-evolving 20-point US peace plan for Ukraine. The Ukrainian president strongly rejected the claims made against his administration. On Sunday, US President Trump said that after a detailed investigation, the US found no evidence that Ukraine had targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence. However, he added that 'something' did occur in the nearby area, Euronews reported.
Trump refutes Russian claim
Trump clarified that while an incident took place close to Putin's residence, US officials did not believe the Russian president's home itself was the target. Trump said in his conversation with journalists, "I don't believe that strike happened." He added, "We don't believe that happened, now that we've been able to check."
Trump's refutation comes after European officials said that Russia's claims of an attack on Putin's residence were an effort by the country to undermine the peace effort.
