A high-ranking Russian official issued a thinly veiled threat against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, doubling down on unsubstantiated accusations that Ukraine tried to target Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in a drone strike.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who now sits on Russia’s security council, accused the Ukrainian leader of “trying to derail the settlement of the conflict,” in a post Monday on the social platform X, referring to ongoing peace talks aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“He wants war,” Medvedev continued, referring to Zelenskyy. “Well, now at least he’ll have to stay in hiding for the rest of his worthless life.”
Russia has continued bombarding Kyiv with strikes, as U.S.-brokered negotiations have continued, raising questions about whether Moscow wants to derail peace talks. President Trump has said he believes Putin wants to achieve peace, despite the ongoing strikes.
Kremlin’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow’s negotiating position to end its war in Ukraine was now under review, after accusing Kyiv of trying to attack the presidential residence in northern Russia with 91 long-range drones overnight.
Lavrov said all drones were destroyed by Russian air defenses, with no injuries or damage.
Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha said early Tuesday that Russia still has not presented any “plausible evidence” of an attack on Putin’s residence, writing on X, “And they won’t. because there’s none. No such attack happened.”
“Russia has a long record of false claims — it’s their signature tactic. For instance, Russia claimed it wouldn’t attack Ukraine in the beginning of 2022,” he continued. “They also often accuse others of what they themselves plan to do. Their words should never be taken at face value.”
A day after President Trump and Zelenskyy met at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., to discuss the latest draft proposal to end the war, Putin spoke to Trump by phone and relayed the accusations.
Trump told reporters he was “very angry” when he heard the claims.
“I don’t like it, it’s not good. I heard about it this morning. You know who told me about it? President Putin told me about it,” Trump told reporters Monday, when asked about the strike. “Early in the morning he said he was attacked. That’s no good, it’s no good.”
“It’s a delicate period of time. This is not the right time,” he added, likely referring to ongoing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. “It’s one thing to be offensive, because [Russia is] offensive, it’s another thing to attack [Putin’s] house. It’s not the right time to do any of that. … I was very angry about it.”
Asked if there’s evidence of the attack, the commander in chief replied: “Well, we’ll find out. You’re saying maybe the attack didn’t take place? That’s possible, I guess, but President Putin told me this morning.”