The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday released nighttime footage that it said showed wreckage from a Ukrainian drone intercepted during an attempted strike on a residence used by President Vladimir Putin.
The video, filmed in a snow-covered, forested area in Russia, shows a Russian serviceman standing over debris that Moscow said belongs to a drone.
Russian officials also said the drone was shot down before it could strike its target in the Novgorod region and was carrying a six-kilogram explosive device that failed to detonate.
The footage was released as Moscow faced mounting skepticism over its account of events.
It was reported Wednesday that U.S. national security officials concluded Ukraine did not target Putin or any of his residences in the alleged drone incident.
The report said the finding was supported by a CIA assessment that determined no attempted attack on Putin occurred, citing a U.S. official briefed on the intelligence.
Instead, Ukraine was believed to be targeting a military site it had previously struck in the same region but not near Putin’s residence, the official said.
Ukrainian officials have continued to reject the allegations, with a military drone expert claiming the video provided little evidence of an attempted strike on one of Russia’s most heavily secured locations.
“This footage, unfortunately, does not offer proof of anything other than that there is a wrecked drone on the ground somewhere being stood over by a Russian serviceman,” CEO Cameron Chell told Digital.
Chell, whose firm supplies drones to the U.S. Department of Defense and its allies, said the drone shown in the video looked ill-suited for such a mission.
“The attacks that occurred on Dec. 29 were also hundreds of kilometers away,” he added.
“The engines on the drone in this new footage are very small, and though capable of multiple hours of flight with the type of fixed-wing drone displayed, it would be extremely slow and unsophisticated.
“This drone is not untypical of many Ukraine drones, but these would only be used for infrastructure targets and woefully ineffective in an attack on a facility the likes of Putin’s residence,” Chell concluded.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi also dismissed the footage as “laughable,” saying Kyiv was “absolutely confident that no such attack took place,” according to reports.
Russia alleges the drone was part of a wave targeting Putin’s residence earlier this week.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserted 91 drones had been intercepted en route to Putin’s residence, a figure that appeared to conflict with earlier Defense Ministry statements.
The ministry initially reported that 89 drones were shot down across eight regions, including 18 over Novgorod, before revising the numbers upward.
Only after Lavrov’s remarks did the Defense Ministry claim that 49 drones intercepted over Bryansk — nearly 300 miles from Valdai — were also targeting the presidential residence.
The ministry initially reported that 89 drones were shot down across eight regions, including 18 over Novgorod, before revising the numbers upward.
The timing of the allegations has also drawn scrutiny, coming shortly after what Moscow described publicly as a positive meeting between President Trump and Zelenskyy in Florida.
Zelenskyy also called the allegations a “complete fabrication,” saying it was designed to justify further Russian strikes and undermine diplomatic efforts.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected Ukraine’s denials and said Moscow would toughen its diplomatic stance.
Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.