US national security officials said Ukraine did not target Russian President Vladimir Putin or one of his residences in a recent drone strike, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Citing a US official briefed on the intelligence, the Journal said the conclusion is supported by a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assessment that found no attempted attack against Putin had occurred.
Ukraine was looking to strike a military target that Kyiv had hit before, located in the same region as Putin's country residence but not close by, the US official said, according to the report.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Tuesday that Russia has failed to provide any credible evidence to support its claims of an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on a presidential residence in the Novgorod region.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday seemed to dismiss Russia's assertion of a foiled drone strike, posting a link to a New York Post editorial and sharing the headline: "Putin 'attack' bluster shows Russia is the one standing in the way of peace."
Trump reportedly expressed concern over the incident during a call with Putin, though he later noted the possibility that the attack "didn't take place."
Asked whether the US had confirmation that the attack occurred, he said Sunday along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: "You are saying maybe the attack didn't take place—that is possible too, I guess, but President Putin told me this morning it did."
Zelensky denied the claim, arguing the accusation seeks to "undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts" with Trump's team and "justify additional attacks against Ukraine."
