French presidential source claims 'no solid evidence' of alleged attack on Russian president's residence

ISTANBUL

French President Emmanuel Macron's entourage claimed Tuesday that there is "no solid evidence" of an alleged drone attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence, which the Kremlin has blamed on Ukraine.

"The Russian authorities themselves are saying everything and its opposite about what actually happened, notably regarding the number of vectors involved and the regions targeted. Moreover, there is no solid evidence to substantiate the serious accusations made by the Russian authorities, even after cross-checking information with our partners," a presidential source told broadcaster BFMTV.

The remark came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that Kyiv carried out an attack using 91 unmanned aerial vehicles on Putin’s state residence in the Novgorod region on the night of Dec. 29. Lavrov said all drones were destroyed and that there were no casualties or damage from falling debris.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the claims, stressing that they undermine all achievements of shared diplomatic efforts with the US and justify additional attacks against Ukraine.