An open letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Russian President Vladimir Putin raises questions about disputed reports that the CIA worked together with Ukraine to assassinate Putin at his family residence.

Zelenskyy’s letter does not openly claim responsibility for the alleged swarm of over 90 drones launched at Putin’s home in December, but it alluded to the “security of your residence in Valdai” on June 4. The letter came out shortly before a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks around the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Saturday, according to St. Petersburg Gov. Aleksandr Beglov’s verified Telegram account.

A CIA assessment determined that the strike on Putin’s home never took place, The Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 31, 2025.

“Ukraine categorically rejects claims that its forces launched a drone attack on President Vladimir Putin’s residence in Valdai,” Halyna Yusypiuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, told the DCNF. “Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, have dismissed these allegations as a complete fabrication intended to undermine ongoing diplomatic efforts and provide a pretext for further Russian escalation.”

The CIA didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.

‘Intimately Involved’

Russian officials speculated that the highly disputed December attack could have come with CIA assistance.

“I said right away that it’s impossible [to conduct the strike on Putin’s home] without support from intelligence services — first and foremost the CIA,” Russian news agency Puamo reported, citing Aleksei Chepa, deputy chair of the Russian State Duma’s Committee on International Affairs.

There is also some speculation from journalists and military analysts that the CIA was indirectly involved in the alleged strikes on Putin’s home by providing targeting data.

“The CIA has been heavily, intimately involved,” geopolitical analyst Brandon Weichert told the DCNF. “U.S. intelligence, not just CIA, but U.S. intelligence services have been heavily, intimately involved with the targeting intelligence of these strikes within Russia.”

“CIA / Ukraine Likely Tried to Kill Putin at Home with his Family,” a headline from former Moscow Times editor Matt Bivens’ personal Substack reads.

The alleged drone swarm directed at Putin’s home in Valdai reportedly took place on Dec. 29, 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a press release.

“You know who told me about it? President Putin told me about it. Early in the morning he said he was attacked. That’s no good. It’s no good,” President Donald Trump said to reporters on Dec. 29, 2025, when he was asked about “the strike — the alleged strike on Putin’s residence.”

Two days after this statement, Trump reposted a New York Post editorial board op-ed alluding that the attack was based on “lies” in a post on Truth Social.

The White House, the Russian Embassy in Washington and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence also did not respond to a request for comment.