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Russia treating latest drone attack on the Putin residence as more sinister than just another terrorist attack

By Larry C. Johnson | SONAR | January 1, 2026

… this is not the first time that Ukraine tried to hit Putin with a drone attack… Remember the May 2023 attack on the Kremlin? Here is the list of the most prominent Ukrainian-sponsored terrorist attacks since 2022:

  1. Assassination of Darya Dugina (August 20, 2022) A car bomb in Moscow killed journalist and activist Darya Dugina (daughter of ultranationalist Alexander Dugin). Russia’s FSB accused Ukraine’s special services of orchestrating it, claiming a Ukrainian woman carried it out. Although Ukraine denied involvement US intelligence later assessed that elements within the Ukrainian government authorized it.
  2. Crimean Bridge Explosion (October 8, 2022) A truck bomb damaged the Kerch Bridge linking Russia to occupied Crimea, killing several civilians. Putin called it a “terrorist act” by Ukrainian services. Ukraine initially denied but later acknowledged responsibility for the attack, claiming the bridge as a legitimate military target.
  3. Nord Stream Pipelines Sabotage (September 26, 2022) Underwater explosions damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Russia accused Ukraine (or Western proxies) of terrorism to disrupt energy supplies. Investigations pointed to sabotage, with later reports (including German warrants) suspecting a Ukrainian team; Ukraine denied state involvement.
  4. Assassination Attempts on Pro-Russian Figures and Journalists Russia has labeled multiple killings or attempts (e.g., Vladlen Tatarsky in April 2023 café bombing; other bloggers/war correspondents) as Ukrainian terrorism.
  5. Drone and Sabotage Attacks on Infrastructure Russia routinely calls Ukrainian drone strikes on oil depots, refineries, airbases, and Moscow buildings “terrorist acts” (hundreds since 2022). Notable: May 2023 Kremlin drone incident (Russia claimed attempt on Putin).
  6. Border Incursions/Raids (e.g., Belgorod/Bryansk, 2023–2024) Cross-border raids by anti-Putin Russian partisans (e.g., Russian Volunteer Corps, operating from Ukraine) were branded terrorism by Russia, with claims of Ukrainian backing.
  7. Crocus City Hall Concert Attack (March 22, 2024) Gunmen killed 145+ in Moscow suburb. ISIS-K claimed full responsibility (verified by U.S./Western intelligence).
  8. Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov (December 17, 2024): Head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops. Killed with his assistant by a bomb hidden in an electric scooter outside his Moscow apartment. Ukraine’s SBU claimed responsibility, calling him a “legitimate target” for alleged chemical weapons use. Russia classified it as terrorism.
  9. Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik (April 25, 2025): Deputy head of the General Staff’s main operational department. Killed by a car bomb near Moscow. Russia blamed Ukrainian services.
  10. In Bryansk Oblast (May 31, 2025) (near Vygonichi): A highway/road bridge exploded and collapsed onto railway tracks just as a passenger train (Klimovo–Moscow route, carrying ~388 passengers) was passing underneath. The debris crushed parts of the train, killing at least 7 people (including the driver) and injuring 66–113 others (reports vary, including children).
  11. Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov (December 22, 2025): Head of the General Staff’s army operational training directorate. Killed by a bomb under his car in southern Moscow. R

So why has this latest attack by Ukraine sparked such fury on the part of the Russians? This is something more than orchestrated outrage. I think it is a combination of factors, starting with the fact that the attack began while Ukraine’s Zelensky was meeting with Donald Trump for the ostensible purpose of trying to craft a peace proposal for Russia. Whether Zelensky was witting of the plan is not relevant. This was an attack planned and executed with the assistance of Western intelligence, possibly including the CIA, and the timing and the intended target removed any doubt on the part of the Russians that the West could be trusted to negotiate an honest deal.

We still do not know if President Putin was at the residence… If he was, then it is not out of the question for the Russians to conclude that this was a deliberate attempt to kill Putin using the peace talks as a ruse. We will soon find out how pissed off the Russians are when they carry out their promise to retaliate. … Full article

Rumble

January 1, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, Video | , , , | Leave a comment

Two dozen killed in Ukrainian strike on Russian New Year’s celebration – governor

RT | January 1, 2026

At least 24 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a Ukrainian drone strike on a café and a hotel during New Year’s Eve celebrations in the Black Sea coastal village of Khorly, the governor of Russia’s Kherson Region has said.

The attack took place shortly before midnight after a reconnaissance drone surveyed the area, Kherson Region Governor Vladimir Saldo said in a post on Telegram on Thursday. Three unmanned aerial vehicles then hit the crowded venue, triggering a massive fire that burned through the premises. One of the drones reportedly carried an incendiary mixture.

A child was among those killed, Saldo said. The medics are currently fighting for the lives of the wounded, he added.

The governor said that the attack can only be compared to the May 2014 Odessa massacre. At the time, Ukrainian ultra-nationalists who had supported the then-recent Western-backed coup in Kiev chased 42 anti-government protesters into the city’s Trade Unions House before setting the building on fire and burning all of them alive. “This is what the ‘peace’ that Zelensky claims to strive for looks like,” he wrote.

Kherson Region, together with Zaporozhye Region and the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, joined Russia in the fall of 2022 as a result of local referendums.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said earlier that at least nine Ukrainian drones targeting the Russian capital had been shot down overnight. The mayor reported the first interception at 11:55pm local time just as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s traditional New Year’s address began.

The latest drone raids follow a failed drone attack by Kiev on Putin’s residence in Novgorod Region on December 28-29, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has condemned as an act of “state terrorism.”

The Kremlin noted that the raid was aimed not only against the Russian leader, but also “against [US] President [Donald] Trump’s efforts to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.”

January 1, 2026 Posted by | War Crimes | , | Leave a comment