Tajikistan: Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on Wednesday condemned an alleged drone attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence, which Moscow has blamed on Ukraine. In a statement by Tajikistan's presidency, Rahmon expressed his condemnation during a phone call with his Russian counterpart.
According to Anadolu Agency, Rahmon emphasized that such actions, which threaten state facilities and the security of the country's leadership, are unacceptable and create obstacles to the negotiation process aimed at achieving peace and stability. The statement further highlighted that both Rahmon and Putin positively assessed the development of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia and stressed their readiness to accelerate the expansion of their strategic partnership in 2026. Additionally, the two presidents took the opportunity to exchange New Year greetings.
The issue arose after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed on Monday that Ukraine launched a drone attack on Putin's residence in the northwestern Novgorod region, using 91 long-range strike drones on the night of Dec. 28-29. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly denied Lavrov's claims in a statement on US social media platform X. Zelenskyy argued that the accusations aim to "undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump's team" and claimed that Moscow's allegations are intended to "justify additional attacks against Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well as Russia's own refusal to take necessary steps to end the war."