Military Retaliation Threats Despite No Reported Damage to Facility

Russian authorities have issued military retaliation threats despite reporting no damage to President Putin’s residence from an alleged Ukrainian drone attack. The apparent disconnect between claimed defensive success and promised offensive response has become a focal point of analysis.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Russian air defense systems successfully intercepted and destroyed all 91 drones allegedly launched by Ukraine at the presidential compound in Novgorod region. Despite reporting that the facility sustained no damage, he characterized the attack attempt as state terrorism warranting forceful military retaliation. Lavrov confirmed that Russian armed forces had identified specific targets for counterstrike operations.
President Zelensky dismissed Russian allegations while highlighting what he described as logical inconsistencies in Moscow’s narrative. He argued that Russia’s combination of claims—perfect defensive success, no damage, yet demands for retaliation—exposed the true purpose of Russian allegations: providing justification for pre-planned military operations against Ukrainian facilities.
The alleged December 28-29 incident reportedly involved long-range unmanned aerial vehicles that Russian authorities claim were completely neutralized. Lavrov indicated that despite the attack’s alleged total failure to cause any damage, the attempt itself would influence Moscow’s approach to ongoing peace discussions and necessitate reassessment of Russia’s negotiating position.
Zelensky called on international observers to examine the logic of Russian threats. He questioned why complete defensive success with no damage to protected assets would warrant the level of retaliation Moscow was threatening. The Ukrainian president suggested that this disconnect revealed Russia was seeking justification for attacks it intended to conduct regardless of actual security threats. He referenced Moscow’s history of striking Ukrainian government buildings, including the Cabinet of Ministers, as evidence that Russia executes such attacks routinely. Zelensky stressed that the combination of no-damage claims with retaliation threats exposes Russian allegations as pretexts rather than responses to genuine security concerns.