Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow says decoded drone data shows presidential residence was target, to share findings with US

Russia said on Thursday it had recovered and decoded data from a Ukrainian drone shot down earlier this week, which it claimed showed the drone was targeting a Russian presidential residence.

Moscow said it would share the relevant information with the United States.




"Decryption of routing data revealed that the final target of the Ukrainian drone attack on December 29, 2025, was a facility at the Russian Presidential Residence in the Novgorod region. These materials will be transferred to the American side through the established channels," Russia's defence ministry said through a post on Telegram.

The CIA earlier rejected Moscow’s claim about the alleged attack, US officials said. They added that CIA Director John Ratcliffe briefed US President Donald Trump on the assessment on Wednesday.

Moscow on Monday accused Kyiv of attempting to attack a residence of President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s northern Novgorod region using 91 long-range drones. It said the incident would be taken into account while reviewing its negotiating position in ongoing US-backed talks to end the Ukraine war.

Trump initially voiced sympathy for Russia’s claim, telling reporters on Monday that Putin had informed him of the alleged incident and that he was “very angry” about it. By Wednesday, however, Trump appeared more sceptical, sharing on social media a New York Post editorial accusing Russia of obstructing peace efforts in Ukraine.

Ukraine has denied carrying out any such attack, calling the accusation part of a Russian disinformation campaign aimed at driving a wedge between Kyiv and Washington following a weekend meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy called Russia's claim “a complete fabrication intended to justify additional attacks against Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well as Russia's own refusal to take necessary steps to end the war.”

The episode followed shortly after Trump hosted Zelenskyy at his private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. While both sides struck a positive tone after the meeting, little headway was made on key issues, including security guarantees for Ukraine and Russia’s demand that Kyiv cede territory.

Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Wednesday that he and other senior officials had spoken with Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov and several European national security officials as part of efforts to end the war.