The Kremlin's reports about an undocumented “attack” on Putin's villa in the Novgorod Oblast were supplemented by a large-scale “information” campaign on television, aimed at audiences in Russia. For this purpose, Vladimir Solovyov was even brought back from vacation [głównego kremlowskiego propagandystę, który jest prezenterem telewizyjnym w kanałach Rossija 1 i Rossija 24].
Invited guests acting as experts spoke on the video about the fact that Ukraine “officially declared war on Russia”, accused the West of helping to organize drone attacks, threatened Great Britain with the Poseidon torpedo, and attacked Bankova with Oreshnik missiles. [ulicę, przy której znajduje się siedziba prezydenta Ukrainy]. However, as of Tuesday morning, no videos or eyewitness accounts of the attack on the residence had emerged.
In the “News” program at 20 on the Rossiya 1 channel, the editor-in-chief of the “National Defense” magazine, Igor Korotshenko, stated that “the attack from Kiev means that Ukraine has officially declared war on the Russian Federation.” “This is how international law interprets this situation,” he emphasized. “As for retaliatory actions by Russia, I believe that the best solution will be to strike Zelensky's residence, as well as other state and military management centers in Kiev, using the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile without a nuclear warhead,” the expert said.
Military expert Yuri Knutov, who also appeared on the news on the Rossiya 1 channel, agreed with this: “If we are talking about the response to Ukraine's massive attack on the residence of the President of Russia, then of course [celami] they can be [ukraińskie] decision centers. In this case, it is Bankowa, the building of the Ministry of Defense, GUR [Główny Zarząd Wywiadu Ministerstwa Obrony Ukrainy] and a number of government institutions, as well as facilities that have previously been the subject of attacks… Primarily energy facilities, facilities of the military-industrial complex.”
Russian First Channel showed statements of the leaders of all parliamentary parties. The head of the United Russia faction, Vladimir Vasiliev, called for “preventive measures aimed not at the negotiation process, but at preventing aggression.” The attempt to “physically remove” Putin was called an “attack” by the head of A Just Russia, Sergei Mironov.
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In addition, a special episode of the program “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” dedicated to [rzekomemu] attack on the residence (it was not planned in this week's schedule). One of the program's guests, member of the Committee of the Russian Federation Council for International Affairs Alexei Kondratiev, stated that the aim of the “attack” was to kill Putin. In response, he called for “all measures to be used.” “If you have to use Oreshnik, you have to use Oreshnik, if you have to use Poseidon, you have to use Poseidon,” Kondratiew said.
A unit equipped with the Russian Oreshnik mobile missile system at an undisclosed location in Belarus, December 30, 2025.RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT/EPA / PAP
One of the main ideas of the program was that the Ukrainian armed forces could not carry out an attack on the residence without the help of Western countries. The head of the Center for the Study of Military and Political Conflicts, Andrei Klintsevich, even went so far as to consider the possibility of responding to the attack on the residence within the framework of the Russian nuclear doctrine. “It is clearly written here about the enemy's impact on critically important state or military facilities, and the president's residence belongs to the category of facilities whose destruction will lead to disruption of the activities of nuclear forces,” Klincewicz said.
So far, there is no evidence that the attack took place or that it did not take place. Given the course of the war in Ukraine, no option can be completely ruled out:
in May 2023, drones already attacked the Kremlin.
In turn, Russia, according to media publications and data from law enforcement agencies, has repeatedly tried to organize the assassination of the President of Ukraine.
Detailed plans for the planned assassination attempt on Zelensky were presented by CIA director William Burns in January 2022.
In December 2022, The Wall Street Journal, citing Ukrainian intelligence, wrote that Ramzan Kadyrov was tasked with killing Zelensky at the beginning of the war by Putin.
In May 2022, Zelensky said that ten assassination attempts had been made against him up to that point.
This summer, Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the SBU, announced that the assassination attempt on Zelensky at the airport in Rzeszów had been thwarted.
What's the point of all this? The Kremlin and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have made clear that Moscow's negotiating position [w sprawie zakończenia wojny w Ukrainie] will change due to the “attack”.
Ukraine also reacted to reports of the attack attributed to it. President Volodymyr Zelensky called them “lies” and “an attempt to torpedo peace negotiations.” — Russia is preparing the ground for an attack on government buildings in Kiev, he said.
In turn, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on X that “Russian manipulations regarding the alleged 'attempt to attack Putin's residence' are fabricated for only one purpose: to create a pretext and false justification for further Russian attacks on Ukraine, as well as to undermine and obstruct the peace process.”
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
