Nicolai Petro: Chaos After Ukraine Collapses
Glenn Diesen | January 1, 2026
Nicolai N. Petro is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island, and formerly the US State Department’s special assistant for policy on the Soviet Union. Prof. Petro discusses the pending end of the Ukraine War and why Europe will likely fragment as a consequence of its proxy war against Russia.
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Decrypted Data From UAV Shot Down in Novgorod Region Handed Over to US Side
Sputnik | January 1, 2026
Russian intelligence services were able to retrieve a flight mission file from one of the Ukrainian drones that attacked Putin’s residence.
Decrypted data from one of the Ukrainian drones that attacked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence have been handed over to the US mission in Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that overnight from December 28 to 29, Kiev had launched an attack on the Russian presidential residence in Russia’s Novgorod Region using 91 drones.
“Materials containing decrypted routing data and the flight controller of the Ukrainian drone that was shot down by Russian air defense systems on the night of December 29, 2025, over the Novgorod Region during a terrorist attack on the Russian presidential residence were handed over to a representative of the military attache’s office at the US Embassy in Moscow,” the ministry said in a statement.
The obtained data unequivocally confirm that the drones were on their way to attack Putin’s residence, the head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Intelligence Directorate, Igor Kostyukov, who delivered the files to the US Embassy, said.
“We believe that this step will remove all questions and will contribute to establishing the truth,” Kostyukov added.
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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
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.”
Stanislav Krapivnik: Massive Escalation – Attack on Putin’s Residence
Glenn Diesen | December 30, 2026
Stanislav Krapivnik is a former US Army officer, supply chain exec and military-political expert, now based in Russia. He was born in Lugansk during the Soviet times, migrated to the US as a child and served in the US army. Krapivnik discusses the attack on Putin’s residence.
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Drone Attack on Putin’s Residence Could Have Triggered a Nuclear War: Here’s Why
Sputnik – 30.12.2025
The 91-drone attack on the presidential residence in Novgorod region was an extremely dangerous provocation. And one that “could not have been carried out without the participation of European hawks” because “Zelensky would not have dared to plan or carry out such an operation on his own,” military expert Alexey Leonkov told Sputnik.
Intricate planning was required, and the timing – while Zelensky was in the US for talks with Trump, was designed to give him an alibi, “which he is now using, claiming Ukraine had nothing to do with it,” Leonkov said.
The provocation “wasn’t simply an attack on the president,” the observer emphasized. “It was a strike on a nuclear weapons control center, as each such residence contains communications nodes through which the head of state can issue the command to use the country’s nuclear forces.”
“It was intended to provoke a conflict between the US and Russia,” Leonkov said. “This was precisely the calculation: at worst, provoking a global conflict; at a minimum, disrupting the negotiation process between the US and Russia. And it’s clear that European hawks favor only this scenario,” particularly Britain.
While he issues denials now, Zelensky essentially blabbed about the attack ahead of time twice in the past two weeks: a press conference on December 18, when he said “politicians change, somebody lives, somebody dies,” and on Christmas eve, when he openly called on Ukrainians to wish for Putin’s death.
“All this suggests Zelensky was aware of the impending attack, but was playing his assigned role – pretending he had nothing to do with it and ‘advocating for peace’,” Leonkov emphasized.
Analyzing Moscow’s public reaction carefully, Leonkov said two things are certain: first, Russia will respond appropriately, and the targets and time of the response have already been determined; second, the response will be carried out in such a way as not to affect the negotiation process between Russia and the US.
Ukraine’s Escalation May Be Aimed at Prolonging Conflict as Talks Advance — Ex-Pentagon Analyst
Sputnik – 30.12.2025
Someone in Ukraine’s command structure is escalating “at any phase where a step towards peace is being made,” with responsibility unclear — from Zelensky and commanders to Western intelligence, Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, retired US Air Force and former analyst for the US Department of Defense, told Sputnik.
Kwiatkowski argued the attacks complicate negotiations and that Ukraine is fighting “from a position of great weakness.”
On Russia’s likely reaction, she said Moscow “does not need to tolerate Ukrainian assassination attempts and drone barrages,” arguing that those who want the conflict to continue may be seeking “a Russian over-reaction… as a way of continuing the war.” She also said Russia has “so far preserved the moral high ground by focusing on military targets” and the stated objectives of the special military operation.
“In a very basic sense, none or very few US or other weapons should be transferred to Ukraine, based on our own laws governing foreign military sales to unelected dictators without a mutual defense treaty, and the recent track record of Ukrainian corruption and lack of accountability,” Kwiatkowski emphasized, arguing that sending more weapons with a “collapsing and poorly trained Army” amounts to wasting them.
The analyst also said US intelligence and targeting support has been “a major aspect” of assistance, and argued that removing it would end the conflict sooner.
“This sharing of US intelligence, targeting coordination, and even selection of targets has been a major aspect of US aid to Ukraine, and while Trump stopped some and slowed other aid to Ukraine, it appears he never stopped this crucial aspect. This assistance is, in my opinion, the sole reason this war has continued over the past few years, when it could have been ended long ago,” Kwiatkowski stressed.
Attack on Putin’s residence could be anti-Zelensky plot in Kiev – ex-CIA analyst
RT | December 30, 2025
The Ukrainian drone attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence earlier this week may have been staged by elements of the government in Kiev to undermine Vladimir Zelensky, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson has told RT.
Moscow said the attempt to strike the state residence in Novgorod Region occurred overnight from Sunday to Monday, coinciding with Zelensky’s US visit to negotiate with President Donald Trump. Johnson called the timing suspicious.
“I don’t think he [Zelensky] is that stupid to launch that kind of attack while meeting with Trump,” he argued in an interview on Tuesday. Johnson said he would not be surprised if Ukrainian intelligence personnel, possibly acting on orders from Kirill Budanov, head of the military espionage agency HUR, were involved.
“To do something so outrageous and so blatant while you are sitting there with Trump and your entire delegation to talk peace… There are clear elements in Ukraine that do not want peace, that are profiting too much from this war, and that were trying to sabotage [American mediation],” he added.
Johnson suggested that if Zelensky were behind the raid, it would give Trump more reason to withdraw support permanently. He said a more likely scenario is that domestic political opponents staged the attack to pressure Zelensky out of power, potentially paving the way for former top general Valery Zaluzhny to take over.
Moscow described the incident as a failed attempt to derail peace talks by provoking a Russian overreaction. Kiev denied any attack on Putin’s residence, with Zelensky claiming Moscow was preparing to strike the government district in Kiev.
Zelensky holds presidential powers under martial law after his term expired last year. Opinion polls consistently show that in a hypothetical election, Zelensky would lose to Zaluzhny in a second round, or possibly to Budanov if Zaluzhny declined to run. Neither military official has publicly expressed presidential ambitions.
Drone Attack on Putin’s Residence Planned by Forces Trying to Torpedo Ukraine Peace Push: Expert
Sputnik – 29.12.2025
“They do not consider it possible to step back and allow the situation on our border region to be stabilized. Therefore, they are making gradual attempts to torpedo the negotiation process,” military analyst Alexander Stepanov told Sputnik, commenting on the attack on Putin’s residence in Novgorod region by 91 drones Sunday night.
“We’ve seen this attitude in the openly-stated positions of key EU leaders. Now, we’re seeing it in the intentions of intelligence agencies, mostly likely British, who are clearly continuing to develop plans to launch terrorist strikes on strategically significant targets, to carry out targeted terrorist attacks against high-ranking Russian military personnel, de facto transforming the war into permanent proxy-hybrid mode using the tools of state terrorism,” Stepanov, an expert from the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, explained.
Naturally, these efforts serve to further “delegitimize” the Kiev regime, Stepanov said. They make it clear that Ukraine’s authorities are “war criminals and, more broadly speaking, international terrorists, who have neither the right to govern this territory nor the right to control the lives of its citizens.”
Negotiating with such actors is “impossible, and does not fit into any normative framework of international relations,” the observer stressed.
Stepanov expects a “maximum reduction” in US-Ukraine military-technical and intelligence cooperation, including for navigation and targeting systems, in the wake of Sunday’s attack.
If US statements “are backed by real will, it would be possible to remotely disable the control systems of virtually all weapons supplied through Western channels, including American ones, and to end the presence of US military specialists who, at certain stages, support the operation of both sophisticated Patriot air defense systems and long-range HIMARS tactical systems,” Stepanov said.
Same goes for Starlink, which could leave Ukraine’s military blind “within a few hours.”
As far as Russia is concerned, Sunday night’s attack on Putin’s residence will “likely entail reclassifying” those held responsible “as terrorists, subject to capture or elimination,” Stepanov believes.
Ukraine launched 91 kamikaze drones at Putin’s state residence – Lavrov
RT | December 29, 2025
The Ukrainian military fired a barrage of 91 long-range kamikaze drones overnight at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state residence in the Novgorod Region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed late on Monday.
The Kiev regime has fully switched to state terrorism policies, and Moscow will review its negotiating position accordingly, the top diplomat warned.
“All the unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by air defense systems of Russia’s Armed Forces,” Lavrov confirmed.
The attack came amid “intensive negotiations between Russia and the US,” the top diplomat pointed out, adding that the “reckless actions” of Kiev will not remain unanswered.
Moscow has already designated targets and the timing of the impending retaliatory strikes, Lavrov warned.
The incident is bound to affect the Ukraine conflict settlement process, the foreign minister said without providing any exact details on the potential shifts in Russia’s positions.
“We do not intend to withdraw from the negotiation process with the US. However, given the complete degeneration of the criminal Kiev regime, which has shifted to a policy of state terrorism, Russia’s negotiating position will be revised,” Lavrov stated.
Ukraine’s leader Vladimir Zelensky, however, has strongly denied the attack on Putin’s state residence. Moscow is only seeking a pretext to jeopardize the “progress” made by the US and Ukraine, and attack the government quarter in Kiev, he claimed.
Ukraine Takes Part in NATO War Games, Further Integrating Into Collective Defense Architecture
By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | December 28, 2025
Ukrainian representatives participated in NATO war games simulating the alliance’s response to an attack.
According to a NATO press release, 1,500 soldiers and civilians from multiple European countries participated in the Loyal Dolos 2025 drills that were conducted at the beginning of the month.
On Sunday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces posted on Facebook that Ukrainian officials participated in Loyal Dolos. “Ukraine is becoming part of the collective defense architecture of NATO. Ukrainian JATEC experts have, for the first time, joined the work of the mechanisms of Article 5 of the NATO Treaty on the training LOYAL DOLOS 2025,” the post explained.
Senior National Representative of Ukraine in JATEC, director of Implementation of the programs of the Joint Center NATO-Ukraine Colonel Valery Vyshnivsky said, “The participation of Ukrainian JATEC experts in the LOYAL DOLOS 2025, which is one of the key elements of NATO’s preparation according to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, has strategic significance for us, as for the first time Ukrainian representatives have been involved in the work of the Alliance’s collective security mechanisms.”
Kiev’s military ties to NATO countries are one of the primary reasons Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Kremlin has demanded that Kiev agree to neutrality as a condition for ending the war.
President Zelensky recently announced that Ukraine would agree to stop seeking formal membership in the North Atlantic Alliance if members of the bloc agreed to bilateral agreements with Kiev that are similar to NATO’s Article 5. Article 5 is considered the mutual defense pact in the NATO charter.
That Ukraine is continuing its integration into NATO suggests that Kiev is still seeking to become an informal member of the bloc.
Anti-Russia States Cannot Join Ukraine Peacekeeping – German Lawmaker
Sputnik – 28.12.2025
NATO and EU countries using anti-Russian propaganda cannot join any potential peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, while Germany’s direct military involvement risks dragging it into foreign conflict, Steffen Kotre, a Bundestag member of the Alternative for Germany party, told Sputnik.
On Friday, Manfred Weber, the leader of the European Parliament’s largest European People’s Party called for sending troops from EU countries to Ukraine. The politician added that he would like to see soldiers with the European flag on their uniforms in Ukraine.
“Such measures should be seen as part of militarization that contributes to prolonged confrontation with Russia. If we are talking about deploying contingents, they should be provided by neutral countries, not states with anti-Russian propaganda or NATO members,” Kotre said.
In addition, Kotre opposed further supplying Ukraine with weapons, as well as the EU countries’ intention to commit to permanently maintaining the Ukrainian armed forces at a high level of combat readiness.
“I fundamentally oppose sending multinational military forces to Ukraine – even if they are called ‘protection forces’ or ‘multinational forces.’ I consider German direct military involvement a mistake, as it could drag the country into someone else’s war and entail significant risks of escalation,” he said.
Since this spring France, as the co-chair of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, has been trying to broker a deployment of a multinational “deterrent” contingent to Ukraine. In September, French President Emmanuel Macron said that 26 countries committed to joining the deployment after a ceasefire is reached in Ukraine.
On December 15, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the European Union and the United States had agreed to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, modeled on NATO’s Article 5. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow and Washington had reached an understanding that Ukraine should return to being a non-aligned, neutral, non-nuclear state.
In 2024, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said that the West planned to deploy the so-called peacekeeping contingent of about 100,000 in Ukraine to restore its combat capability. The SVR called this scenario a de facto occupation of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that there is no point in the presence of foreign military personnel in Ukraine after a possible sustainable peace agreement. The Russian leader also stressed that Russia would consider any troops on the territory of Ukraine to be legitimate targets.
