File image.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has finally shared the details of the Ukrainian attempt to attack the presidency of President Vladimir Putin in the Novgorod region over the night of December 28 and 29.
In a press briefing on December 31, Chief of the Air Defense Missile Forces of the Russian Aerospace Forces Major General Aleksandr Romanenkov said that “a large number of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles” were used in the attack.
The attack was first detected around 19.20 local time of December 28 by radio-technical units of the Russian Aerospace Forces, according to the commander, who said that “fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles operating at extremely low altitudes” were detected over the Ukrainian regions of Sumy and Chernigov.
A map shown during the conference revealed how Ukraine delivered the attack on the presidential presidency from several directions over the Russian regions of Bryansk, Smolensk, Tver, and Novgorod, using at least 91 drones, all of which were shot down.
Click to see full-size image.
- Over Bryansk, 49 drones were shot down: from 20.27 to 21.16 of 28 December, two drones were destroyed; from 23.15 of 28 December to 00.07 of 29 December, 17 drones were destroyed; from 00.51 to 01.07 of 29 December, three drones were destroyed; from 02.05 to 03.56 of 29 December, 27 drones were destroyed.
- Over Smolensk, at 01.50 of 29 December 2025, one drone was intercepted.
- Over Novgorod, 41 drones were shot down: from 03.18 to 05.01 of 29 December, 11 drones were shot down; from 06.20 to 07.13 of 29 December, 12 drones were shot down; from 07.46 to 08.30 of 29 December, 18 drones were shot down.
Maj. Gen. Romanenkov noted that the drones were intercepted using electronic warfare means, anti-aircraft missiles, and mobile fire teams.
“The composition of the strike, the amount of the air attack means used, and their movement from southern, southwestern, and western directions straight to the area of the residence of the President of the Russian Federation in Novgorod region, unequivocally confirm that the terrorist attack of the Kiev regime was deliberate, thoroughly planned, and organised in waves,” the commander said.
“There were no casualties or damage as a result of actions to repel the terrorist attack of the Kiev regime on the territory of the Russian Federation. Any damage to the residence of the President of the Russian Federation has been prevented,” he added.
The ministry also shared a video showing the wreckage of one of the downed drones, identifying it as a Ukranian-made Chaklun-B. Drones of this type have a range of well over 500 kilometers and could carry a warhead weighing 20-35 kg. Several other types of fixed-wing, long-range drones were likely used during the attack.
An unnamed Russian officer who took part in repelling the attack said in a testimony published by the ministry that Ukraine attempted to overwhelm air defenses around the presidential residence.
“The attempt to get through us and overwhelm our defences was foiled. We performed the task as ordered, we eliminated all targets. The target of UAVs was the object that we protect on the territory of Valdai area of Novgorod region,” the air defense officer said.
In addition, the ministry shared the testimony of a local resident from Roshchino, close to the presidential residence.
“In the morning, the noise woke me up. To be frank, I didn’t realise it at the moment, maybe dump trucks were operating near or something else. When I got out of the bed, I understood what happened. I heard the sound of rockets for the first time in my life. It was a heavy grinding sound. I heard it from the side of the Valdai Lake,” the local, who introduced himself as Igor Bolshakov, said.
The Kremlin described the attack attempt as a “terrorist act” and “state terrorism,” noting that it was timed to sabotage ongoing peace talks mediated by the United States.
Meanwhile, senior Iranian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, opted to deny that the attack took place.
U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly expressed anger after he was informed of the Ukrainian attack by Putin during a phone call.
“I don’t like it. It’s not good,” Trump told reporters on December 29 when asked if he was worried the attack could affect his efforts to broker peace. “I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it.”
“It’s a delicate period of time. 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. It’s not the right time to do any of that,” he added, citing what happened as an example of why his administration refrained from supplying Kiev with Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles.
According to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, targets for a retaliatory attack had been already selected by the Russian military. The minister noted that while Russia will not abandon the talks, its position will be “reviewed”.
“Such reckless actions will not go unanswered,” he vowed.
Meanwhile, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said that Zelensky will have to hide for the rest of his life.
“The stinking Kiev bastard is trying to derail the settlement of the conflict. He wants war. Well, now at least he’ll have to stay in hiding for the rest of his worthless life,” he wrote on the X social media platform on December 30.
With the Russian MoD sharing all the details of the Ukrainian attack, the stage is set and ready for a retaliation. Attempts by Kiev to deny that the attack took place will not likely affect Russia’s decision to respond, in a way or another, especially that the U.S. appear to have acknowledged, and even condemned, the dangerous attack.
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so… the gprs module in the video is from simcom, a chinese company, and the savox 1785a is a servo module from finland. all paid for, of course, by uk, eu and us taxpayers.