CIA debunks Russian claims, says Ukraine did not attack Vladimir Putin’s house

Ukraine did not attack Russian President Vladimir Putin's house, a US intelligence report has determined. The report by the CIA counters Russian claims that Kyiv targeted Putin's house in Russia's north using drones. Notably, the assertion was also made by Putin during a call with US President Trump, who responded to the claims by saying that he "couldn’t even imagine such crazy actions" and added that the alleged incident would inevitably affect Washington's approach toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

CIA findings clear Ukraine's name

According to reports, CIA Director John Ratcliffe briefed Trump on the agency's findings on Wednesday (Dec 31). Ratcliffe told Trump that the CIA did not believe that the allegations raised publicly by Putin were true.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US instead found that Ukraine had been seeking to strike a military target located in the same region as Putin's country residence. However, as per officials, the target was not close to the residence.

Trump concedes maybe Ukraine didn't attack Putin's house

Following his briefing by the CIA director, Trump on X posted a link to a New York Post editorial titled "Putin ‘attack’ bluster shows Russia is the one standing in the way of peace," that states that the alleged Ukraine attack likely didn't happen.

Earlier, according to a Kremlin readout released after Putin-Trump phone call, the POTUS said he was "shocked" and "literally outraged" by the alleged drone strike against a residence linked to the Russian presidency. Reportedly, Trump also told the Russian president that he was glad, "the current administration hasn’t given 'Tomahawks'."

Trump later confirmed the call, describing it as "a very good talk," while acknowledging that several "thorny issues" remained unresolved. Speaking to reporters, he said he was "very angry" when Putin raised the alleged attack, arguing that targeting a leader's residence crossed a different line than battlefield operations. He said it was one thing to "be offensive" and another "to attack his (Putin's) house".

However, even at that time, Trump conceded that the Russian claim might not be accurate. When asked whether US intelligence had verified the incident, he had said it was "possible" the attack did not happen as described.