With negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by US President Donald Trump, at a critical stage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi weighed in Tuesday on the “targeting of the residence” of Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged “all concerned” to be focused on the diplomatic talks, avoiding any action that could undermine those efforts.

Hours later, Kyiv expressed disappointment over the statement, saying “no such attack happened”.

Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, in a post on X, said, “Almost a day passed and Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence to its accusations of Ukraine’s alleged ‘attack on Putin’s residence’. And they won’t. Because there’s none. No such attack happened.”

“We were disappointed and concerned to see the statements by Emirati, Indian and Pakistani sides expressing their concerns regarding the attack that never happened. It is even more surprising given that all three states failed to issue any official statements when a real Russian missile struck the real Ukrainian government building on September 7, 2025,” he said.

On Monday, Moscow accused Kyiv of attacking a Presidential residence in northern Russia, an allegation that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed as a lie aimed at letting Moscow continue the war.

Tagging the Kremlin, Modi, in a post on X, said, “Deeply concerned by reports of the targeting of the residence of the President of the Russian Federation. Ongoing diplomatic efforts offer the most viable path toward ending hostilities and achieving peace. We urge all concerned to remain focused on these efforts and to avoid any actions that could undermine them.” He did not criticise Ukraine or name anyone.

Trump said he was “very angry” about Ukraine’s strike on Putin’s state residence – the Russian leader informed him Monday. “I don’t like it. It’s not good… It’s one thing to be offensive…another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any ‌of that. And I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it,” he said.

Deeply concerned by reports of the targeting of the residence of the President of the Russian Federation. Ongoing diplomatic efforts offer the most viable path toward ending hostilities and achieving peace. We urge all concerned to remain focused on these efforts and to avoid any…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 30, 2025

While China urged parties to the Ukrainian conflict to “prevent it from spreading, avoid escalation by refraining from fueling hostilities, and create conditions for a political settlement”, the UAE condemned Kyiv’s attempt to strike Putin’s residence, calling it a “deplorable attack”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of attacking the Presidential residence in the Novgorod region overnight with 91 long-range attack drones, and said Russia would retaliate.

He said no one was injured and although Moscow was not quitting talks on ending the war in Ukraine, its negotiating position was being reviewed following the attack, which he described as “state terrorism”. Lavrov did not provide any evidence for the accusation. He said Russia had already identified targets in Ukraine.

For India, the last four years of war have led to a diplomatic tightrope walk – it has not condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and has usually abstained during UN resolutions on the conflict. It has, however, visited both Moscow and Kyiv, and has kept its channels of communication with Putin and Zelenskyy. Delhi hosted Putin early December and is planning to host the Ukrainian President soon. It has also passed on messages between Russia and Ukraine.