Russian President Vladimir Putin (PTI photo)
The CIA has turned down Moscow’s claim that Ukraine tried to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence earlier this week. US officials said CIA director John Ratcliffe briefed President Donald Trump on the assessment on Wednesday.Russia had publicly accused Ukraine of trying to strike Putin’s home on Monday, and Trump told reporters that Putin mentioned it to him during a phone call. Trump said he was troubled by the claim and seemed to accept it at first, even though Ukraine strongly denied any involvement.
“I don’t like it. It’s not good,” Trump said, adding that he was “very angry” when he heard about the alleged attack.Russia used the accusation to warn that it might take a tougher position in peace talks, even though it has not provided clear evidence of the supposed drone strike. Moscow claimed the target was Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region, a rural area.But the US intelligence assessment matches Ukraine’s position. In a social media post, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia’s claim “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.”On Monday, even though Trump said he was upset about the reported attack, he admitted he had no confirmation and said it was “possible” it never happened. “It’s a delicate period of time,” he said. “This is not the right time. It’s one thing to be offensive because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house.”This episode came shortly after Trump hosted Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy at his private club Mar-a-Lago in Florida. While they appeared positive after the meeting, they made little progress on major issues such as security guarantees for Ukraine and Russia’s demand that Ukraine cede territory.Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Wednesday that he and other senior officials spoke with Rustem Umerov and several European national security officials about efforts to end the war.“We focused on how to move the discussions forward in a practical way on behalf of @POTUS’ peace process, including strengthening security guarantees and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms to help end the war and ensure it does not restart,” he wrote on social media.