EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on 31 December that Russia’s allegation of recent Ukrainian attacks on key government sites was a “deliberate distraction” intended to derail progress towards a settlement. In a post on X, Kallas added that no one should accept “unfounded claims from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians.” Her remarks were carried by Ukraine’s state agency Ukrinform and other European outlets.
The allegation at issue emerged after Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, asserted that 91 Ukrainian drones tried to strike a presidential residence at Valdai overnight on 28–29 December. The Kremlin then said Russia would review and harden its position in ongoing talks rather than withdraw from them, a stance confirmed by spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. The claim was first aired publicly by Lavrov, as reported in UK and international media.
On 31 December, Russia’s defence ministry released video it said showed wreckage of a downed Ukrainian Chaklun‑V drone and a map alleging launch points in Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions. Reuters noted it could not verify the location, date or intended target of the footage, and Moscow provided no proof the drones were aimed at a presidential facility.
Independent checks have not produced corroboration. The Moscow Times reported interviews with Valdai residents who said they received no alerts and heard no explosions that night. Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War likewise said they had found no open‑source evidence of an attack near the residence, a finding summarised by Ukrainian media.
Ukrainian officials rejected the accusation outright. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi called the purported evidence “laughable,” while Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said no such attack occurred. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow was creating a pretext for further strikes-particularly against Kyiv-and seeking to undercut momentum after his 28 December meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. These statements were reported by Reuters, the Kyiv Independent and the Washington Post.
Despite the dispute, the diplomatic track is continuing. Reuters reported that U.S. officials held further discussions with Ukraine and European counterparts on 31 December, with national security advisers due to meet in Ukraine on Saturday 3 January 2026 and a leaders’ session expected in France on 6 January 2026. Trump told reporters the framework was “95% done,” according to the Guardian, while acknowledging unresolved territorial questions.
The frontline picture remains tense. Overnight into 31 December, Odesa was hit by drones, injuring six people including three children and damaging apartment blocks and energy facilities, according to the Associated Press and Ukrainian officials cited by Reuters. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry later said more than 170,000 households in Odesa region were left without power as repairs began.
The strikes on Odesa form part of a broader pattern this winter. On 2 December, President Vladimir Putin threatened to intensify attacks on Ukrainian ports and even “cut Ukraine off from the sea” in response to Kyiv’s long‑range operations against Russia’s sanctions‑evading “shadow fleet,” as recorded by Reuters and local media.
Verification remains central. Reuters said it could not authenticate Russia’s drone footage, and ISW reported no geolocated imagery, air‑defence activity or local authority statements consistent with an attempted mass strike at Valdai. Kallas’s warning underscores that the EU will treat such claims with evidentiary caution while diplomacy proceeds.
For negotiators, the immediate test is whether early‑January meetings proceed unaffected by Moscow’s rhetoric; for Ukrainians, the near‑term impact is continued pressure on air defence and energy recovery in cities like Odesa. The Kremlin says it will adopt a tougher line but remain in talks, a posture that could complicate-though not halt-the current timetable.