Russia says it will give the US decoded data from a downed drone, alleging it targeted a presidential residence, a claim Ukraine and the West dispute.
MOSCOW: Russia says it will provide the United States with what it claims is proof of an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on a presidential residence.
The Russian Defence Ministry stated on Thursday that it had extracted and decoded data from a Ukrainian drone downed earlier this week.
“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,” the ministry said in a Telegram statement.
It added that “these materials will be transferred to the American side through the established channels.”
Moscow initially accused Kyiv on Monday of trying to strike a residence of President Vladimir Putin with dozens of long-range attack drones.
It said the alleged incident would cause Russia to review its position in talks with the US on ending the Ukraine war.
Ukraine has firmly denied carrying out any such attack.
Kyiv described the accusation as part of a Russian disinformation campaign aimed at driving a wedge between Ukraine and Washington.
This follows a weekend meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Western countries have also disputed Russia’s account of the alleged attempted strike.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that US national security officials found Ukraine did not target Putin or one of his residences.
President Trump initially expressed sympathy for the Russian charge on Monday.
He told reporters that Putin had informed him of the alleged incident and was “very angry” about it.
By Wednesday, Trump appeared more sceptical, sharing a New York Post editorial accusing Russia of blocking peace in Ukraine.
