Claims of a drone attack on President Putin’s residence have been dismissed as implausible by a drone expert, raising questions about the credibility of Russia’s accusations against Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence has allegedly been targeted by Ukrainian drones, but a leading military drone expert has labeled these claims as lacking credibility due to tactical impossibilities.
Cameron Chell, CEO and co-founder of Draganfly, a drone manufacturer that supplies the U.S. Department of Defense and allied militaries, including Ukraine, expressed skepticism regarding the accusations. He described the alleged attack as “hard to fathom” and tactically implausible.
As Moscow intensified its allegations, Kyiv firmly denied any involvement in the purported drone strike. Chell emphasized that the claims contradict Ukraine’s established drone tactics, which are known for their cleverness and efficiency.
“What really makes things usually very signature about Ukraine is that they’re always incredibly clever about how they use drones,” Chell told Fox News Digital. “They are clever from a cost perspective — let’s call it an efficiency perspective — but also very clever in their tactics,” he added.
Chell further stated, “I find it hard to fathom that this drone attack even happened on Putin’s residence or that it was something that Ukraine orchestrated for a number of reasons.” He noted that for a drone to reach Putin’s residence, it would need to be launched from a relatively close location.
On Tuesday, Russia reiterated its claims that Ukraine attempted to strike a presidential palace in the Novgorod region using drones, allegedly to disrupt ongoing peace efforts. Kyiv dismissed these allegations, particularly given the timing, which coincided with a recent positive meeting between former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed late Monday that 91 drones were intercepted while en route to Putin’s residence on the shores of Lake Valdai. This statement appeared to contradict earlier reports from the Defense Ministry, which indicated that 89 drones had been shot down across eight regions, including 18 over Novgorod, with additional claims of 23 more drones later added to the tally. Lavrov’s comments also included an assertion that 49 drones intercepted over Bryansk, nearly 300 miles away, were also targeting Valdai.
When asked about the wreckage from the alleged attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated it was “a matter for our military,” while dismissing Zelenskyy’s denial and Western skepticism as “completely insane.” Peskov indicated that Russia’s diplomatic stance would be hardened, and Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin warned that there could be “no forgiveness” for Zelenskyy.
Chell reiterated that the narrative surrounding the alleged attack does not hold up under scrutiny. “To attack Putin’s residence, you need long-range, very fast-moving drones,” he explained. He added that for smaller drones to reach such a secure location, they would have to be launched from a much closer distance, likely within Russia itself.
“They would have to be within about 10 kilometers [6.2 miles] — or maybe, at most, 30 kilometers — of Putin’s residence,” Chell noted. He emphasized that the facility where Putin resides is highly secure, making it unlikely for lower-cost, slower-moving drones to successfully approach it.
Moreover, Chell pointed out that Ukraine typically does not announce its drone operations in advance. He also highlighted the challenges of conducting night operations, which would complicate the use of GPS or AI-based navigation due to jamming and visibility issues. “Apparently, the thing was at night, so that’s very difficult for machine vision or AI mapping software,” he said. “It definitely wasn’t using GPS, because it would have been jammed. There are just a bunch of things that don’t add up.”
From a political standpoint, Chell argued that Ukraine has little to gain from such an attack. “They’re bold, but right in the middle of peace talks — when they need Trump on side — it makes no sense,” he stated. “Ukraine is just politically too smart to have done that.”
On Monday, Zelenskyy also dismissed the claims as a complete fabrication, accusing Moscow of laying the groundwork for further attacks. Lavrov warned of potential retaliation but affirmed that Russia would continue its talks with Washington.
Trump mentioned that he learned of the alleged attack directly from Putin and expressed his anger over the situation. When asked about the evidence, he replied, “We’ll find out.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Kremlin for further comment on the matter.
According to Fox News, the unfolding situation continues to raise questions about the credibility of Russia’s claims and the implications for ongoing peace negotiations.