MOSCOW, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Ukraine had tried to attack President Vladimir Putin's residence in the Novgorod region and so Moscow's
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Drone Attack on Putin's Residence
By Guy Faulconbridge and Maxim Rodionov
MOSCOW, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Ukraine had tried to attack President Vladimir Putin's residence in northern Russia and so Moscow's negotiating position would be reviewed, but Ukraine said it was a lie.
Russia said Ukraine attacked the presidential residence in the Novgorod region overnight with 91 long-range drones, which were all destroyed by Russian air defences. No one was injured and there was no damage, Lavrov said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the accusation was a lie, adding that Moscow was preparing the ground to strike government buildings in Kyiv. He said the Russian claim was an attempt to undermine peace talks.
Lavrov said that targets had already been selected for retaliatory strikes by Russia's armed forces. "Such reckless actions will not go unanswered," he said, adding that the attack amounted to "state terrorism."
Lavrov noted that the attack took place during negotiations about a possible Ukrainian peace deal and that while Russia would not leave the negotiations, Moscow's position will be reviewed.
It was not immediately clear if Putin was in the Dolgiye Borody, or Long Beards, residence which has been used in the past by Josef Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Boris Yeltsin and Putin.
Putin on Monday told his army to press on with a campaign to take full control of the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine after a Russian commander said Moscow's forces were 15 km (9.3 miles) from its biggest city.
(Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Sharon Singleton)
