U.S. national security insiders smacked down Russian President Vladimir Putin's allegation that Ukraine tried to drone-strike his luxe lakeside pad, according to a new report.
A U.S. official briefed on the intelligence flatly denied Putin's claim Wednesday, backed by a CIA assessment finding no evidence of any assassination attempt, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The CIA declined to comment.
The Journal reported, citing the official, that "Ukraine was looking to strike a military target that Kyiv had hit before, located in the same region as Putin’s country residence but not close by."
The Russian strongman previously told Trump that Ukrainian drones targeted his swanky Dolgiye Borody estate — aka "Long Beards" — nestled on a northwestern lake shore.
Trump said he was “very angry” after Putin lodged the allegation in a phone call.
When asked if the U.S. had evidence of such an attack, Trump replied: “You are saying, maybe the attack didn’t take place—that is possible too, I guess, but President Putin told me this morning it did.”
The president on Wednesday played it cool, sharing a New York Post headline declaring, "Putin ‘attack’ bluster shows Russia is the one standing in the way of peace."
Kyiv has denied the allegation and accused Putin of cooking up an excuse to tank U.S.-Ukraine relations and torpedo peace talks.