Zelenskyy calls out 'Russian lies' after claims he ‘tried to bomb’ Putin’s home
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has branded claims that he launched a drone strike on one of Vladimir Putin's pads a 'complete fabrication'.
The Ukrainian leader, 47, insisted that suggestions that he orchestrated an attack on the Russian tyrant's residence in the Novgorod region were outright 'lies'.
According to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, 91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles were launched by Kyiv late on Sunday night (28 December) and into the early hours of Monday morning.
They were supposedly bound for Putin's home - although it is not clear if he was present at the time of the alleged attack and all of the drones were said to have been shot down.
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"Given the complete degeneration of the criminal Kyiv regime, which has shifted to a policy of state terrorism, Russia's negotiating position will be reconsidered," Lavrov said.
Zelenskyy has since accused Russia of trying to 'undermine' his efforts to achieve peace by pedalling the story that he took aim at Putin's home.
He seems to believe that it's a ploy which gives the Kremlin an excuse to continue attacking his country, while dually scuppering the progress he made after a sit down with President Donald Trump.
Ukraine's president met with the US commander-in-chief in Florida over the weekend and Trump said a peace deal was now 'closer than ever before'.
He said there were still some 'thorny issues' to iron out, but added that an agreement was 'close to 95%' complete.
Zelenskyy said that the US had offered security guarantees for 15 years for Ukraine and he appeared optimistic as he told Fox News that there was a 'possibility to finish this war' in 2026.
However, he made it clear that Ukraine's success hinges on support from the States, saying: "My feelings of President Trump's sanctions and economical steps, shows that he's ready for very strong steps.
"In this situation, the United States can move the situation to peace quicker. I don't trust Putin and he doesn't want success for Ukraine."
But on Monday, Trump revealed that Putin had informed him of the alleged drone strike on his residence during a phone call - and he wasn't very happy.
"I don’t like it," he told reporters. "It’s not good. I heard about it this morning. You know who told me about it? President Putin told me about it early in the morning. He said he was attacked.
"This is a delicate period of time. It’s one thing to be offensive, it’s another thing to attack his house. I learned about it from President Putin. I was very angry about it."
When questioned about whether there was any proof of the drone attack, Trump said: "Well, we will find out. You are saying the attack didn’t take place maybe that is possible, I guess.
"But President Putin told me this morning it did."
Zelenskyy has now hit back at Russia's claims in a statement shared to social media, while calling on countries around the world to pledge their support for Ukraine.
"Russia is at it again, using dangerous statements to undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump's team," he wrote in a post on X. "We keep working together to bring peace closer.
"This alleged 'residence strike' story is 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.
"Typical Russian lies. Furthermore, the Russians have already targeted Kyiv in the past, including the Cabinet of Ministers building.
"Ukraine does not take steps that can undermine diplomacy. To the contrary, Russia always takes such steps. This is one of many differences between us.
"It is critical that the world doesn’t stay silent now. We cannot allow Russia to undermine the work on achieving a lasting peace."
Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov has warned of retaliation in wake of the alleged drone attack, as he ominously said: "Such reckless terrorist actions will naturally not go unanswered."
"The US president was shocked by this news, literally outraged, and said he couldn’t even imagine such crazy actions," he told Russian media.
"As has been said, this will undoubtedly influence American approaches in the context of working with Zelensky."
Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine back in February 2022.
Topics: Politics, Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump, World News
Olivia Burke