Russia releases footage to challenge alleged attack

Russia’s defense ministry released video footage of the downed drone at a briefing aimed at showing that Ukraine attempted to attack the presidential residence this week, challenging Kiev’s denials that such an attack took place.

Kiev said Moscow had provided no evidence to support its claims and that Russia had fabricated the alleged attack to hinder progress in talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Officials in many Western countries were skeptical of Russia’s version of events and questioned whether there had been any attack.

Video footage released by Russia’s defense ministry shows a senior military officer, Major General Alexander Romanenkov, detailing how Moscow believed Ukraine had attacked one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences in the Novgorod region.

Romanenkov said that 91 unmanned aerial vehicles were launched in a “thoroughly planned” attack from the Sumy and Chernihiv regions of Ukraine, and that the attack was “blocked by Russian air defense, did not cause any damage and did not injure anyone.”

The video published by the ministry showed a Russian soldier standing next to parts of a device he said was the downed Ukrainian Chaklun-V unmanned aerial vehicle, carrying 6 kg of explosive material.

The ministry did not explain how it knew what the device’s target was.

Speaking to Reuters, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said that the images were “ridiculous” and that Kiev was “absolutely sure that such an attack did not occur.”

Reuters was unable to verify the location and date of the images showing parts of a destroyed device. The model of the destroyed device could not immediately be confirmed.

In other footage, a man identified as Igor Bolshakov from a village in the Novgorod region said he heard air defense rockets in action.