MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. Ukraine's attempt to strike Russian President Vladimir Putin's state residence demonstrated that Vladimir Zelensky is a "puppet" in the hands of provocateurs who are blocking peace in Ukraine, Eddie Gonzales, US political commentator and host of Russia Up Close, has told TASS.

"This is a clear provocation by forces that do not want peace. It is intended to disrupt the peace process at every level. According to reports, [US President Donald] Trump told Putin in a telephone call that he is glad he did not supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. This signals an awareness of the dangers of further arming Ukraine. Zelensky is impotent to resist the forces that control him and forced the attack on Putin's residence. He's a puppet, in other words. It also indicates how little control Trump truly has over him," the expert stated.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Monday that on the night of December 28-29, Ukraine had launched a terrorist attack on Putin’s residence in the Novgorod Region, employing 91 unmanned aerial vehicles. All drones were destroyed by air defenses; there were no reports of casualties or damage, Lavrov noted. The action was carried out by Kiev amid intensive negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict, the top Russian diplomat stressed.

In turn, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said that during a phone call with Trump, Putin drew attention to Kiev’s attack, which took place "almost immediately" after the US-Ukraine talks in Mar-a-Lago, and warned that it would not go "unanswered."

The Russian leader also told Trump that Moscow’s position in negotiations to resolve the conflict would be re-evaluated.