Photo: EPA
U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not believe Russia’s claims that Ukraine attacked the residence of Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Russia’s Novgorod region.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning from Florida to Washington, Trump said, “I don’t believe that strike happened,” according to Reuters.
“Something happened nearby, but it had nothing to do with that,” he added.
Background
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that on the night of Dec. 28–29 Ukraine allegedly attacked Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region with 91 attack drones.
The same day, Trump held a phone call with Putin, during which the Russian leader told him about the alleged “attack.”
Trump later said he had heard about the reported drone incident near Putin’s residence but stressed that he had no concrete information about it.
On Jan. 1, it was reported that the CIA and the U.S. National Security Agency concluded that Ukraine did not target Putin’s Valdai residence.
