Hopes for peace recede as Russia says Ukraine tried to attack Putin’s residence

• Trump met with Zelensky in Florida on Sunday.
• Ukraine says the territorial issue remains unresolved.
• Ukraine denies the charge as a builder to obstruct peace.

MOSCOW/KIEV: Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of trying to attack President Vladimir Putin’s residence in northern Russia, although it provided no evidence to support the claim, which Kiev dismissed as baseless and intended to undermine peace talks.

The angry exchanges, including a statement by Russia that it was reviewing its negotiating stance in response to the attack, dealt a fresh blow to prospects for peace in Ukraine.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Florida and said they were “getting much closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war, although “thorny” territorial issues remain.

Putin also struck a defiant tone on Monday, telling his military to continue the campaign to take full control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, and the Kremlin reiterated demands that Kiev withdraw its forces from the last part of the Donbass region they still hold in eastern Ukraine.

Putin told Trump by phone that Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, was reconsidering its stance after the reported drone strike, an aide said.

Lavrov blames Ukraine, Zelensky denies

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine attempted to attack Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region west of Moscow on December 28-29 with 91 long-range drones, all of which were destroyed by Russian air defenses. No one was injured and there was no damage, he said in comments reported by Russian media.

“Such reckless actions will not go unanswered,” the veteran foreign minister said, describing the attack as “state terrorism” and adding that targets had already been selected for retaliation by Russia’s armed forces.

Lavrov appeared in televised comments to offer no evidence for his claims. It was unclear where Putin was at the time.

Lavrov noted that the attack took place during negotiations for a possible peace deal and said that Russia would review its negotiating stance but would not abandon the negotiations.

Denying that Ukraine had planned such an attack, Zelensky accused Moscow of preparing the ground to strike government buildings in Kiev, saying Russia wanted to undermine progress in US-Ukraine talks to end the war.

“Another round of lies from the Russian Federation,” Zelensky told reporters via WhatsApp.

“It’s clear that we had a meeting with Trump yesterday and it’s clear that for the Russians, if there’s no scandal between us and America, and we’re making progress – for them it’s a failure, because they don’t want this war to end.”

He added: “I’m sure they’re just preparing the ground for strikes, probably in the capital, possibly in government buildings.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told X that the attack was a fabrication intended to create a pretext for more Russian attacks in Ukraine and undermine the peace process. He urged world leaders to condemn Russia for its accusations.

Territorial issues unresolved

Zelensky said a bilateral agreement had been outlined with Trump on security guarantees for Kiev on Sunday, although the US president said they were only 95 percent ready, and Zelensky said on Monday he was seeking a 50-year security deal.

Trump also said he expects European countries to “take a large part” of security efforts with US support. Agreeing on such moves would be complicated, as Russia has said any deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine would be unacceptable.

Zelensky said on Monday two key issues in a 20-point peace proposal remained to be resolved – control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is in Russian hands, and the fate of the Donbass region.

Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.

It claims Donbas – which includes Donetsk and Luhansk regions – as well as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, although all are internationally recognized as sovereign Ukrainian territory.

Russia wants Kiev to withdraw its troops from parts of the Donetsk region it has failed to capture. Kiev wants an end to fighting along the current front lines, and Washington has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine withdraws its troops.

Underscoring Russia’s intention to stand firm in its territorial ambitions, Putin said on Monday that his generals should continue efforts to secure all of the Zaporizhia region – of which Moscow already controls about 75 percent.

General Mikhail Teplinsky, commander of Russia’s Dnieper military group, told Putin that Russian forces were 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from its largest city, also called Zaporizhzhia.

“In the near future, it is necessary to continue the offensive, together with the Eastern group, for the liberation of Zaporizhia,” Putin replied.