Zelenskyy says Moscow is spreading false claims to derail peace negotiations

Speaking after a two-hour meeting with Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday, Zelenskyy dismissed the Russian account as a familiar tactic aimed at disrupting diplomatic progress. He said Moscow was once again resorting to inflammatory rhetoric to weaken ongoing discussions with the United States aimed at ending the war.

According to Zelenskyy, the story about an attempted strike on Putin’s residence was invented to justify renewed Russian attacks on Ukraine, including potential strikes on Kyiv, and to excuse Moscow’s refusal to engage seriously in peace talks. He warned that Russia may be preparing to target major government buildings in the capital, similar to the bombing of the cabinet offices in central Kyiv last September.

Earlier, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov alleged that Ukrainian drones had attempted to strike Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region, south of St Petersburg. He said the incident would prompt Moscow to reassess its negotiating stance and claimed Russian air defences had intercepted 91 drones. Lavrov warned that the actions would trigger retaliation, accusing Ukraine of “state terrorism” and stating that targets for counterstrikes had already been selected.

The Kremlin’s rhetoric appeared to form part of a broader information campaign aimed both at domestic audiences and at influencing Washington. Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov said the Russian president had informed Trump of the alleged incident during a phone call on Monday, adding that Trump had reacted with shock. Russian officials also suggested that the UK was involved in what they described as provocations.

Trump later confirmed that Putin had told him about the alleged attack, saying the news had made him angry and describing the moment as highly sensitive. He said it was not an appropriate time for such actions and questioned whether targeting a leader’s residence was acceptable. When pressed on whether there was proof the attack had occurred, Trump acknowledged uncertainty but said he was relaying what Putin had told him.

Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, characterised the exchange between Trump and Putin as constructive, following a lengthy phone call between the two leaders over the weekend.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, rejected Moscow’s claims, accusing Russia of projecting its own intentions onto Ukraine. He stressed that Ukraine only strikes legitimate military targets and is acting in self-defence against Russian aggression.

Zelenskyy also said the US had proposed strong security guarantees for Ukraine lasting 15 years, though he acknowledged that the future of the eastern Donbas region remained unresolved after talks at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. He said both the US Congress and Ukraine’s parliament would vote on the proposed commitments, which form part of a broader 20-point peace framework.

Kyiv views the guarantees as essential to preventing renewed Russian aggression, though Zelenskyy admitted that past assurances — including the 1994 Budapest Memorandum — failed to protect Ukraine. Details of the new guarantees remain unclear, and Trump has ruled out deploying peacekeeping troops. Zelenskyy said international monitoring would be the most effective security measure and would help reassure the Ukrainian public.

He added that Ukraine had asked Washington to consider extending security guarantees to 30, 40 or even 50 years, calling such a move a historic opportunity. Trump, he said, agreed to consider the proposal.

At a joint press appearance on Sunday, Trump claimed a peace deal was closer than ever. However, significant gaps remain, with the Kremlin insisting that Ukraine withdraw its forces from heavily fortified cities in Donetsk region.

Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned that Ukraine would lose more territory if it failed to reach an agreement, while declining to comment on the status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Zelenskyy rejected any territorial concessions, saying Russia ultimately seeks to erase Ukraine’s existence. Instead, he proposed creating a demilitarised free economic zone along the current front line, with both sides pulling back troops.

He said the proposal could be put to a national referendum if Russia agreed to a ceasefire lasting at least 60 days, describing such a vote as a powerful expression of public will.

Trump also held video talks with European leaders from Mar-a-Lago on Sunday. Zelenskyy said further discussions were expected in Europe in the coming days, with a possible joint meeting with Trump in January, likely in Washington. He described the US–Ukraine talks as productive and substantive.

While some Ukrainians expressed relief that Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump avoided the confrontational scenes seen earlier this year, critics were sharply critical of several of Trump’s remarks. These included his claim that Russia wanted Ukraine to succeed and his refusal to condemn Russia’s massive drone assault on Kyiv over the weekend, instead suggesting Ukraine had also carried out strong attacks.

Maria Popova, an associate professor at McGill University, wrote on Bluesky that Trump appeared once again to echo Kremlin narratives, noting that he had spoken with Putin shortly before meeting Zelenskyy and suggesting his views were heavily influenced by Russian messaging.