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2025.12.30 22:47 GMT+8

Kremlin to toughen stance in talks after Ukraine's alleged attack on Putin's residence

Updated 2025.12.30 22:47 GMT+8
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A file photo of Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov attending Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual end-of-year press conference and phone-in in Moscow, Russia. /VCG

Russia will toughen its position in the Ukraine negotiations following an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

The diplomatic consequences of the attack would be a hardening of Russia's negotiating position, Peskov told reporters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday denied the attack accusation, calling it "another lie from the Russian Federation."

Peskov said the Ukrainian attack aims to disrupt the negotiation process for ending the Ukrainian conflict, from which Russia is not withdrawing.

Russia will continue the dialogue, primarily with the United States, the spokesman said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Kyiv launched an overnight attack involving 91 long-range strike drones, targeting the presidential residence in Novgorod, noting that all drones were shot down, and no reports of casualties or damage were received.

U.S. President Donald Trump met with Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday, saying that the two sides are "getting a lot closer, maybe very close" to a peace deal to end the Ukraine crisis.

On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Trump on the progress in the latest U.S.-Ukraine negotiations, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday.

Putin emphasized that the Russian side intends to continue engaging in close and productive cooperation with its U.S. partners to explore pathways toward achieving peace, Ushakov said.

Ushakov also revealed that Trump was shocked and outraged by the news of Kyiv's overnight drone attack in Novgorod, saying that the U.S. president "could never have imagined such reckless actions on the part of Ukraine."

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency
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