PHOTO- President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critic Alexei Navalny , who was detained upon his return to Russia, released a video claiming Putin has secretly built , a $1.3 billion giant mansion , the world’s most expensive palace. Navalny died on 16 February 2024, while serving a 19-year prison sentence. His death spurred numerous protests throughout Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday dismissed Russian accusations that Kyiv had tried to attack President Vladimir Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region as “another round of lies”. Moscow earlier accused Ukraine of firing drones at Putin’s residence, without providing any evidence and announced it would “revise” its negotiating position on ending the Ukraine war.
Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of having fired dozens of drones at one of President Vladimir Putin’s homes, without providing any evidence , an accusation that Ukraine called a “lie” aimed at undermining US-led efforts to end the war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who does not typically announce drone strikes, said Ukraine had fired “91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles” at Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region between late Sunday and early Monday, all of which were shot down.
US President Donald Trump has criticised an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s residence — which Kyiv denies — saying it was “not the right time,” amid talks to end Moscow’s invasion.
Vladimir Putin’s £1.3 bn palace was built with illicit funds, said Alexei Navalny from prison cell
“You know who told me about it? President Putin, early in the morning, he said he was attacked. It’s no good,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, adding that he was “very angry about it.”
“It’s a delicate period of time. This is not the right time. 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.”
Putin told Trump that Russia’s position will change
Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump that Russia would review its position in peace negotiations after what Moscow said was a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian presidential residence, the Kremlin said.
Ukraine has dismissed the Russian statements that 91 drones attacked Putin’s residence in northern Russia as lies, and has accused Moscow of attempting to undermine the peace talks.
Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Putin and Trump spoke on Monday and that Putin was briefed by Trump and his senior advisers about the negotiations with Ukraine.
Putin informed Trump about the drone attack on the Russian presidential residence and told Trump that Russia was reviewing its position as a result.
Trump hailed as ‘Russia’s best friend’ on Russian state TV
Guests on a Russian state TV program labeled Trump as their government’s “best friend” and predicted Ukraine’s defeat in the coming year.
Yury Afonin, a member of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, stated, “I think that January 20, 2025 is a landmark date when Trump entered his post, during this time, America became different from the standpoint of understanding, strategy, prospective development, and most importantly the interest of the United States.
“Who could have anticipated that the US would release a National Security Strategy where the key negative messaging is directed towards Europe and quite reasonable position towards our country and towards China.
“I would like to point out that our ties with socialist China have recently deepened. It became clear at the end of the year, and even Europe and its elites started to accept the inevitable. Most importantly, our country developed a clear understanding. A confident stride forward without any compromises that could harm our country in the future.
“Global and European politics will change. The main hope is in our army and in our people, that we can defeat the Nazi plague in 2026.”
During the TV show, it was also mentioned that US economic aid to Ukrainehas been “slashed” and that “Trump’s foreign policy and actions are inspired by Russia,” reports the Express.
Dmitry Novikov, an associate professor at the School of International Affairs, stated, “He respects Vladimir Putin for a good reason. As well as our position, we should look at the U.S.-Russia relations from this standpoint. All this normalization is tied to him being our best friend. The same goes for the process surrounding Ukraine.”
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “conceded literally nothing” in talks to end the war in Ukraine.
“The adversary here, Vladimir Putin, has — to best I can tell — conceded literally nothing to date. And while they say there’s 90 percent agreement, I doubt that Vladimir Putin thinks that the relevant 10 percent that remains is anything he’s willing to give up on,” Pompeo said on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.”
Putin has ‘conceded literally nothing’ in Ukraine peace talks, says Pompeo
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “conceded literally nothing” in talks to end the war in Ukraine.
“The adversary here, Vladimir Putin, has — to best I can tell — conceded literally nothing to date. And while they say there’s 90 percent agreement, I doubt that Vladimir Putin thinks that the relevant 10 percent that remains is anything he’s willing to give up on,” Pompeo said today on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.”
FRANCE24/AFP/ NEWS AGENCIES
