Former US President Donald Trump has expressed anger over reports of an alleged Ukrainian drone strike targeting one of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's official residences, stating it was "not good" and ill-timed.
Trump's Reaction to Russian Claims
The comments came on Monday 29 December 2025, as Mr Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He was responding to assertions from Moscow, made by long-serving Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, that Kyiv had launched an overnight attack on Sunday targeting Putin's home in the Novgorod region.
Lavrov claimed Russian air defences had successfully shot down all 91 drones involved in the alleged assault. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has forcefully denied the accusations, labelling them as "lies".
"I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it," Mr Trump told reporters, describing his second phone call with the Russian president in as many days as "very good".
He emphasised the sensitivity of the moment, stating: "It's a delicate period of time. This is not the right time. It's one thing to be offensive, because they're offensive. It's another thing to attack his house. It's not the right time to do any of that."
US Confirms Strike on Venezuelan Dock
During the same media briefing, Donald Trump also confirmed that the United States had "hit" a dock area in Venezuela. He alleged the site was used for loading drugs onto boats, marking what appears to be the first known US land operation in Venezuela since a pressure campaign against President Nicolas Maduro's government began several months ago.
"There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. We hit all the boats, and now we hit the area," Mr Trump said, offering no further operational details.
When pressed on whether the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was responsible, he replied: "I don't want to say that. I know exactly who it was, but I don't want to say who it was."
Warnings to Iran and Demands for Hamas
The meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu also covered pressing Middle Eastern issues. Mr Trump issued a stark warning to Iran over reports it is rebuilding its ballistic missile programme despite recently reinstated United Nations sanctions.
"I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we're going to have to knock them down, we'll knock them down, we'll knock the hell out of them," he stated. He added, however, that he had heard Iran wanted to make a deal, which he described as "much smarter".
On the topic of Gaza, where progress on the complex second phase of an Israel-Hamas truce has stalled, Mr Trump insisted any advancement must involve disarmament. "As quickly as we can, but there has to be a disarmament. We have to disarm Hamas. It's one of the things we'll talk about, certainly, but there has to be a disarming of Hamas," he said.
The situation remains tense, with local officials reporting more than 400 deaths in Gaza since the initial agreement, and Israel accusing Hamas of ceasefire violations.
