‘Carefully Planned’: Drone Attack on Putin’s Residence? Russia Releases Video- What Happened in Novgorod

Russia has claimed that a “carefully planned” drone attack was carried out near President Vladimir Putin’s residence on Wednesday in the Novgorod region, escalating tensions amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. 

The Russian defence ministry released video footage of a downed drone, alleging it was used in the attempted strike on a protected facility in the Valdai district. As per the ministry, the attack on Putin’s residence was “targeted, carefully planned and carried out in stages.” 

Drone Attack Viral Video 

The viral video claims the drone that attacked Putin’s residence was equipped with a high-explosive component “packed with numerous striking elements,” and was designed to cause damage to people as well as civilian structures. 

It further states that the intended target of the attack was a protected facility located in the Valdai district of Russia’s Novgorod region. 

Ukraine’s Statement on Viral Video 

Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, rejected the video, calling it “laughable.” speaking to Reuters he said, “This is laughable – both the fact that it took them two days to produce this, and the fact that the things they try to present as evidence basically shows that they are not serious even about fabricating the story.”

Tykhyi added that Ukraine was fully confident no such attack had occurred. 

Is Viral Video Real or Fake?

The 15-second video showing drones striking Putin’s residence is an AI-generated video that sparked massive controversy. 

Social media platform X flagged the clip as misleading, stating that it was an AI-generated video. The platform pointed out that the vehicle shown leaves no tyre marks despite driving through fresh snow, while the poor audio quality, brief 15-second duration, and small explosions causing no visible damage are all typical signs of AI-created videos.