Zelenskyy on "attack" on Putin’s Valdai residence: It’s fake, nobody hit it
Reports of strikes on dictator Putin’s Valdai residence are a fake invented by the Russians themselves to derail peace talks.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this in response to journalists’ questions, Censor.NET reports, citing Ukrinform.
Refuting Russia’s fake
The head of state suggested what the fake, launched by the Russians themselves, may be linked to.
"Let’s try to look at what happened. The strikes on Putin’s Valdai residence are a fake — no one was there. Is it linked to sanctions? Maybe a little, but in my view it is more linked to the fact that there was a fairly successful conversation and a positive meeting of our teams over the course of a month. The final point of that was our meeting with President Trump," Zelenskyy said.
Asked whether this could be linked to an attempt to derail a possible transfer of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, the head of state said he did not know, adding that he did not want to speculate.
"I only see that there is a positive outcome from the meeting and a positive outcome from preparing documents. And there is Russia, which wants no positive outcome for anyone in this format. That is why they make such allegations. That is a fact. And the fact that before that they struck our neighborhood, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Bankova Street, this district, they strike all our regions every day. They strike people, children, and civilian infrastructure. Not only military targets. And they justify it by saying there are supposedly military personnel there. Where are the military? In kindergartens?" Zelenskyy added.
Reaction of other countries
The head of state noted that what upset him most in this story were statements by some countries that condemned the non-existent strikes:
"You know what, to be honest, causes misunderstanding and unpleasant feelings is that some representatives, such as India, the UAE, and several other states, condemned our supposed drone strikes on Putin’s residence, strikes that never happened."
Background
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Ukraine struck Putin’s residence in Russia’s Novgorod region with drones on the night of Dec. 29. He said Russia was already preparing a retaliatory strike and would revise its negotiating position.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later denied the reports of an alleged Ukrainian strike on Putin’s state residence.
- U.S. President Donald Trump said the reports caused him "great outrage" and called a possible attack "ill-timed" under the current circumstances.
- Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry noted that Russia has still provided no evidence of the attack.
- The Kremlin says no evidence is needed.
- Putin’s office also said Russia’s position on Ukraine would become tougher after the "attack."
