VIDEO The Russians put the head of the dreaded GRU on the ramp to convince Donald Trump that Putin didn't lie to him

Moscow's Defense Ministry's military intelligence service, the dreaded GRU, has presented the Americans with a navigation controller it claims was recovered from a Ukrainian drone flying toward President Vladimir Putin's residence in the Novgorod region, The Moscow Times reports.

The device, along with decrypted flight data, was handed over to a representative of the US military attache's office in Moscow. Igor Kostiukov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU) in Moscow, personally handed over the device to the American official.

He claimed that information extracted by Russian intelligence agencies “unequivocally confirmed” that the target of the attack was Putin's residence in Valdai. Kostiukov, an admiral who in 2018 became the first naval officer appointed to head the GRU, expressed confidence that these materials “will resolve all questions and help establish the truth.”

MOMENT MoD hands over KEY data to US representatives

'Decryption of navigation controllers… unequivocally CONFIRMED that target of attack was Russian President's residence in Novgorod region'

Military Intelligence Chief Igor Kostyukov transfers info to America pic.twitter.com/xPuuMhqOwb

— Victor vicktop55 commentary (@vick55top) January 1, 2026

A day earlier, Russia's Defense Ministry announced its intention to share with the United States the results of a technical analysis of a Ukrainian drone it claims was shot down by air defenses in the Novgorod region. The statement came after The Wall Street Journal, citing sources in the intelligence community, wrote that CIA agents had found no evidence of an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Putin's residence and that President Donald Trump had been informed about it.

Trump indicated his skepticism about the story of the attack on Putin's residence

Later, the leader of the White House published on his social network Truth Social a link to an article in the conservative newspaper The New York Post titled: “Putin's bragging about an 'attack' shows that it is Russia that stands in the way of peace.”

Russia's Defense Ministry then said it had recovered a “flight mission file” from the drone and claimed its transcript indicated the presidential residence as its final destination.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was the one who on December 29 first accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on Putin's residence in Valdai, a town in the Novgorod region. He claimed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had used 91 drones and that, as a result of the attack, Moscow would reconsider its position in peace negotiations to end the war.

Residents of Valdai, interviewed by independent media, stated that they had not seen drones or received SMS messages about an aerial threat.

The accusation launched by Russia, a day after Trump hosted Zelenskiy at Mar-a-Lago

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the allegation of an attack on Putin's residence as “fake news”. He claimed that Moscow was thus preparing the ground for attacks on government buildings in Kiev and trying to undermine the progress of peace talks between Ukraine and the United States to justify its refusal to end the war.

Putin complained to Trump about the attack on his residence shortly after meeting Zelenskiy in Florida. Following these talks with the Ukrainian president, the leader of the White House announced that 95% of the provisions of the peace plan had been agreed, except for the fate of Donbass.

At the same time, the Kremlin said it was not satisfied with this version of the document. Putin himself has expressed his willingness to continue the war, noting that the pace of Russian military advances in Ukraine “effectively nullifies” his interest in withdrawing the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbas.