Russia Hands Evidence of Alleged Ukrainian Drone Attack on Putin Residence to US

Kyiv and European leaders have dismissed Moscow’s claim, accusing Russia of spreading falsehoods to derail U.S.-led peace talks.

FILE PHOTO: A Russian service member stands next to the remains of a drone, which, according to the Russian Defence Ministry, was downed during the repelling of an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image from a video released December 31, 2025. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Russia handed over to the United States on Jan. 2 what it said was part of a Ukrainian drone containing data proving Kyiv’s forces targeted one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences.

A video posted to the Russian Ministry of Defence’s Telegram channel showed the head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces, Adm. Igor Kostyukov, handing what he called the controlling mechanism of a drone to a U.S. military attache at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.