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Russia said its latest nuclear-capable missile system has been deployed in Belarus, a day after Moscow claimed that Ukraine had carried out a large-scale drone attack on Vladimir Putin’s residence.
Footage released by Russia’s ministry of defence showed the new Oreshnik missile trundling through a snowy forest. Soldiers were seen disguising combat vehicles with green netting and raising a flag at an airbase in eastern Belarus, close to the Russian border.
The video appeared part of a choreographed attempt to intimidate Europe and to prepare Russians for a further escalation in the already brutal war against Ukraine. The deployment, if true, would symbolically reduce the time it would take for a Russian missile to hit an EU capital.
Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, said 10 Oreshnik systems would be stationed in his country. Putin announced they were entering active service at a meeting on Monday with his generals, where he reaffirmed his intention to capture more Ukrainian territory, including the southern city of Zaporizhzhia.
Earlier Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, warned that “reprisals” would be carried out against Kyiv and that targets were already prepared. They followed what he said was an attack on Sunday night involving 91 Ukrainian drones on the Russia’s president’s palace in the Novgorod region.
The Kremlin has not produced evidence to back up its allegations. Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, said on Tuesday that no proof would be offered since all the missiles had been shot down. He said he could not comment on the lack of debris.
People living in the area said they did not hear explosions or the sound of anti-aircraft fire, according to the independent Russian media outlet Sota. No air raid alert was issued, nor were mobile phone clips showing smoke and flames shared online, a typical feature of confirmed hits.
On Tuesday Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Russia had made up the story, and urged other countries to ignore it. “Almost a day passed, and Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence to its accusations. And they won’t. Because there’s none. No such attack happened,” he posted on X.
He did not criticise Donald Trump, who on Monday angrily endorsed Russia’s account and said Putin had told him about the attack in a phone call. “It’s one thing to be offensive, because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that,” the US president said.
Sybiha expressed irritation with India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, after they said they were concerned by the reports. “Such reactions to Russia’s baseless manipulative claims only play into Russian propaganda and encourage Moscow for more atrocities and lies,” he remarked.
Ukrainians commanders said Russian kamikaze drones regularly flew over a government palace used by Zelenskyy on their way to the capital. One officer, the head of territorial defence unit 112, said his team shot down two drones on Saturday above the state residence in Koncha-Zaspa, south of Kyiv.
“Whenever there are large-scale attacks, they fly in our area. There are always shaheeds. Quite often we shoot them down in this place,” the soldier told the Guardian. He shared a video showing an enemy drone flying low across a white winter sky.
The Ukrainians are keen to keep the focus on continuing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, following Zelenskyy’s two-hour meeting with Trump on Sunday in Florida. The two leaders discussed a 20-point peace plan under which the US would offer Kyiv post-war security guarantees voted on by Congress.
There was no progress on the future of the eastern Donbas region, which Putin says must be handed over to Russia. Zelenskyy has ruled out giving Russia land. He has proposed a demilitarised zone, which could be confirmed in a referendum if Russia agrees to a ceasefire of at least 60 days.
Zelenskyy said the Russians were spreading “fake news” because of his “fairly successful conversation and meeting” with Trump over the weekend, and the progress made in recent weeks by the US and Ukrainian delegations. Russia was making accusations because it didn’t want “any positive outcome for anyone in this format”, he added.
Ukraine’s president is due to meet with European allies on 6 January in France, at a conference hosted by Emmanuel Macron. Leaders will discuss Europe’s contribution to a peacekeeping operation. There is likely to be a subsequent meeting between European heads of state with Trump and his White House team in Washington.
Commentators said US security pledges were meaningless if Trump was willing to accept everything the Russian president told him. “If the potential ceasefire monitoring will be done by the same people who now believe what Russia is saying – we are in big trouble,” Phillips O’Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, said.
