In a bid to substantiate its claims, Russia’s Defense Ministry unveiled night-vision footage on Wednesday, purportedly capturing the remnants of a Ukrainian drone. This drone was reportedly intercepted during an attempted strike on a dwelling associated with President Vladimir Putin.
The clip, set in a snowy, wooded locale within Russia, depicts a Russian soldier inspecting fragments said to be from a Ukrainian Chaklun-V drone, according to Moscow’s assertions.
Officials in Russia further stated that the drone was successfully neutralized before it could reach Putin’s residence located near Lake Valdai in the Novgorod region. The drone was allegedly equipped with a six-kilogram explosive that did not detonate.
This video release comes amidst growing doubts about Moscow’s narrative concerning the incident.
Recent satellite images reveal the area surrounding Vladimir Putin’s residential complex in Roshchino, Novgorod Region, Russia, as of August 31, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal highlighted on Wednesday that U.S. national security officials have determined Ukraine was not involved in targeting Putin or any associated residences in this alleged drone activity.
The Journal said the finding was supported by a CIA assessment that determined no attempted attack on Putin occurred, citing a U.S. official briefed on the intelligence.
Instead, Ukraine, they said, was believed to be targeting a military site it had previously struck in the same region but not near Putin’s residence, the official said.
Ukrainian officials have continued to reject the allegations, with a military drone expert claiming the video provided little evidence of an attempted strike on one of Russia’s most heavily secured locations.
Russia releases drone footage of the alleged Ukraine attack on Putin’s residence. (Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via Reuters )
“This footage, unfortunately, does not offer proof of anything other than that there is a wrecked drone on the ground somewhere being stood over by a Russian serviceman,” Draganfly CEO Cameron Chell told Fox News Digital.
Chell, whose firm supplies drones to the U.S. Department of Defense and its allies, said the drone shown in the video looked ill-suited for such a mission.
“The attacks that occurred on Dec. 29 were also hundreds of kilometers away,” he added.
“The engines on the drone in this new footage are very small, and though capable of multiple hours of flight with the type of fixed-wing drone displayed, it would be extremely slow and unsophisticated.
“This drone is not untypical of many Ukraine drones, but these would only be used for infrastructure targets and woefully ineffective in an attack on a facility the likes of Putin’s residence,” Chell concluded.
The Russian Defense ministry shows a downed drone after an alleged drone attack on Putin’s residence. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters )
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi also dismissed the footage as “laughable,” saying Kyiv was “absolutely confident that no such attack took place,” according to Reuters.
Russia alleges the drone was part of a broader Ukrainian operation targeting Putin’s residence earlier this week.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserted 91 drones had been intercepted en route to Putin’s residence, a figure that appeared to conflict with earlier Defense Ministry statements.
The ministry initially reported that 89 drones were shot down across eight regions, including 18 over Novgorod, before revising the numbers upward.
A Ukrainian air intelligence soldier carries a drone in the direction of Bakhmut, Ukraine, May 10, 2024. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Only after Lavrov’s remarks did the Defense Ministry claim that 49 drones intercepted over Bryansk — nearly 300 miles from Valdai — were also targeting the presidential residence.
The ministry initially reported that 89 drones were shot down across eight regions, including 18 over Novgorod, before revising the numbers upward.
The timing of the allegations has also drawn scrutiny, coming shortly after what Moscow described publicly as a positive meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.
Zelenskyy also called the alleged drone attack a “complete fabrication,” saying it was designed to justify further Russian strikes and undermine diplomatic efforts.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected Ukraine’s denials and said Moscow would toughen its diplomatic stance.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
