- PM Shehbaz expresses solidarity with Putin and Russia.
- Premier reiterates Pakistan rejects all forms of violence.
- Russia claims Putin’s residence targeted with 91 drones.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday condemned the reported targeting of President Vladimir Putin’s residence, calling it a grave threat to peace, security and stability at a time when efforts aimed at peace are underway.
In a post on X, Premier Shehbaz described the reported targeting as a “heinous act” and said it “constitutes a grave threat to peace, security, and stability”, particularly while peace efforts are underway.
He said Pakistan “expresses its solidarity with the President of the Russian Federation, and with the government and people of Russia.”
The PM added: “We [Pakistan] reiterate our firm rejection of all forms of violence and acts intended to undermine security and threaten peace.”
Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of trying to attack Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region west of Moscow on December 28–29 with 91 long-range drones, without providing any evidence, an assertion Kyiv dismissed as baseless and designed to undermine peace negotiations.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the alleged attempt as “state terrorism” and warned it would not go unanswered, saying targets had already been selected for retaliatory strikes by Russia’s armed forces.
Lavrov said Russian air defences destroyed all the drones and that no one was injured and there was no damage, though it was not clear where Putin was at the time.
Lavrov noted the alleged attack took place during negotiations about a possible peace deal and said Russia would review its negotiating stance but not quit the negotiations.
Putin told US President Donald Trump by phone that Russia was reviewing its stance following the reported drone attack, an aide said.
The developments came a day after Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Florida and said they were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war, though “thorny” territorial issues remained.
Putin struck a defiant tone on Monday, telling his army to press on with a campaign to take full control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while the Kremlin repeated demands for Kyiv to pull its forces out of the last part of the Donbas area that they still hold in eastern Ukraine.
Zelenskiy denied Ukraine had planned any such attack and accused Moscow of preparing the ground to strike government buildings in Kyiv to undermine progress at US-Ukrainian talks on ending the war.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X that the allegation was a fabrication intended to create a pretext for more Russian attacks on Ukraine and to undermine the peace process, urging world leaders to condemn Russia over its accusations.
