FILE PHOTO: The remains of a drone, which, according to the Russian Defence Ministry, was downed during the repelling of an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image from a video released December 31, 2025. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
MOSCOW - The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday that an analysis of a Ukrainian drone shot down on Monday over the Novgorod region showed it had been targeting the Russian presidential residence.
According to the ministry, a special technical examination of the drone's navigation system enabled specialists to extract a flight mission file loaded into the aircraft. Analysis of the routing data indicated that the intended target was one of the facilities belonging to the presidential residence in the Novgorod region.
The ministry added that materials obtained during the investigation would be forwarded to the United States through established communication channels.
