President Trump slapped down the Kremlin’s accusation that Ukraine targeted a residence of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin last week, saying Sunday night that he doubted such an attack ever took place.
“I don’t believe that strike happened. There is something that happened fairly nearby, but had nothing to do with this house,” Trump, 79, told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington after spending the holidays at Mar-a-Lago.
The president had initially scolded Ukraine over the alleged drone assault, saying Dec. 29 he “was very angry about it” following a call with the Russian leader.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had denied the allegation, calling it “typical Russian lies,” and the CIA had also assessed that the attack never happened.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov publicly alleged that 91 long-range drones targeted Putin’s home in the Novgorod region, roughly halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg, and that they had been shot down.
“This is not the right time,” Trump said shortly after Lavrov went public with his claims. “It’s one thing to be offensive, it’s another thing to attack his house.”
On Sunday, Trump defended his initial reaction, contending that he didn’t know better at the time.
“Because nobody knew at that moment,” the president said. “That was the first I heard about it. He said that his house was attacked.”
“We don’t believe that happened, now that we’ve been able to check. But that was the first we ever heard about it.”
Russia claimed it was reevaluating its participation in peace negotiations with its western neighbor, which Moscow invaded in February 2022.
Trump also suggested Sunday that he could ratchet up tariffs on India to pressure New Delhi to back off its purchases of Russian oil, a critical source of funding for Putin’s war machine.
“[Prime Minister Narendra] Modi is a good guy. He knew I was not happy, and it was important to make me happy,” Trump warned.
“They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly.”
Last year, the Trump administration raised tariffs on Indian goods to 50% in a bid to pressure the country to stop purchasing oil from Russia.
Other countries such as China, Turkey, and Brazil also continue to import oil from Russia, albeit at discounted rates.
Trump’s remarks came while he was standing next to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has championed bipartisan legislation to impose tariffs of up to 500% on countries that continue to buy Russian oil.
