EU’s top diplomat denies Russian claims Ukraine attacked government websites

The European Union’s top diplomat called Moscow’s claims that Ukraine targeted a Russian government website a “deliberate distraction” and an attempt to derail the peace process.

Kaya Karas’s comments on social media appeared to be a reference to the Kremlin’s accusations that Ukraine attempted a drone strike on one of Vladimir Putin’s residences.

“No one should accept the baseless accusations of the aggressors who indiscriminately target Ukrainian infrastructure and civilians,” Karas wrote on social media.

Earlier this week, Moscow accused Ukraine of an attack on Putin’s private residence on Valdai Lake in northwest Russia.

The Kremlin said Russia would review its position in ongoing peace talks as a result.

Since Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov first made the remarks, Russian state media and politicians have discussed the attack in an increasingly inflammatory tone.

“This attack is a blow to the heart of Russia,” said Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian parliament’s defense committee. “After what (Ukraine) did, we cannot forgive.”

Although the Kremlin initially said it saw no point in sharing evidence of the alleged attack, on Wednesday the Russian military released evidence of what it said was an attempted attack.

They include a map purportedly showing drones being launched from the Sumy and Chernihiv regions of Ukraine, as well as a video of a downed drone lying in a snowy woodland. A soldier standing next to the wreckage claimed it was a Ukrainian Chaklon drone.

The BBC was unable to verify the footage or determine where it was filmed.

The appearance of the crashed drone does have similarities to the Chakron produced in Ukraine, but because the components of the drone in the picture are cheap and widely available online, it cannot be ultimately traced to the Ukrainian military.

The Russian Defense Ministry also released a video in which a local resident said he heard a rocket-like sound during the attack.

However, a Russian investigative media outlet said it had spoken to more than a dozen residents in the area around Putin’s official residence and no one heard anything that might indicate that the 91 drones were approaching or shot down by air defense systems.

One person told the outlet: “If something like this happened, the whole city would be talking about it.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has strenuously denied the accusations, linking them to the U.S.-led ceasefire process in Ukraine.

The U.S. and Ukrainian delegations have been working closely together in recent weeks, and Zelensky expressed cautious optimism that Ukraine’s demands would be considered.

He said on Tuesday that in his view the suggestion of a drone attack on Putin’s Valdai residence was about “pretty successful negotiations and positive meetings between our teams over the past month, culminating in our meeting with President Trump.”

Zelensky said Russia wanted to undermine the “positive momentum” between the United States and Ukraine.

When the claims surfaced, Zelensky also warned that alleged drone strikes would be used as a pretext for attacks on Kiev and Ukrainian government buildings. Air sirens briefly sounded as a drone flew close to the capital on Wednesday night, but no hits or damage were reported.

Instead, several locations across the country were struck by drones, with a massive attack in Odessa on the Black Sea in which an apartment building was hit and six people injured, including three children. More than 170,000 people were also without power as temperatures struggled to breach 0 degrees Celsius.

Odessa has been under sustained attack for weeks. The intensity of attacks appears to have increased since Putin threatened to cut off Ukraine’s access to the sea in early December in retaliation for drone attacks on Russian “Shadow Fleet” oil tankers in the Black Sea.

With just hours to go before another year of war ends, many in Kiev have only one wish for 2026.

“We want this to be over. We want this to be over and live like before,” Maria, 26, said.

Standing outside Kyiv’s golden-domed Saint Sophia Monastery, she added: “We have a very beautiful country with huge potential. Our strength lies in our people and that is why we keep going.”

As she spoke, teenage carolers nearby sang Christmas carols to collect donations for the armed forces. “We all want to win in 2026. It’s our collective desire,” one person said.

Zelensky expressed hope that peace talks could be resumed and accelerated in early January, with the participation of U.S. and European officials. But any deal will ultimately require Russian support, which doesn’t appear to be coming anytime soon — and the alleged drone incident over Putin’s official residence could push it even further.

So will next year really bring peace? “We really hope so, but we can’t be sure. We’re doing everything we can,” Maria said.

Next to her, a woman named Ksenia shrugged and turned her gaze to the sky: “Really, only God knows.”