Escalating claims by Russia that Ukraine tried to hit a home of President Vladimir Putin with drones have been dismissed by a leading military drone expert, who called the alleged attack “difficult to fathom” and tactically implausible.
Cameron Chell’s comments came as Moscow doubled down on allegations that Kiev has flatly denied, with the drone industry leader arguing that the alleged strike announced on Monday is at odds with Ukraine’s drone tactics.
Chell, the CEO and co-founder of Dragonflya drone manufacturer that supplies the US Department of Defense and allied militaries, including Ukraine, said Russia’s claims are not credible.
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A Ukrainian soldier launches a reconnaissance drone in the Zaporizhia region, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)
“They are smart from a cost perspective – let’s call it an efficiency perspective – but also very smart in their tactics,” he added.
“I find it difficult to fathom that this drone attack even occurred on Putin’s residence, or that it is something that Ukraine orchestrated for a number of reasons,” Chell said.
“For example, to get over the top of Putin’s residence, the drones would not have been launched from a very long distance,” he added.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin will chair a cabinet meeting outside Moscow on June 4. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Chell’s comments came as Russia on Tuesday doubled down on accusations that Ukraine had tried to attack a presidential palace in the Novgorod region using drones, allegedly to disrupt peace efforts.
Kiev rejected the accusation, with the timing also raising questions given the optimistic tone of a recent meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed late on Monday that 91 drones had been intercepted en route to Putin’s residence on the shores of Lake Valdai.
His statement appeared to contradict earlier Defense Ministry figures, which said 89 drones were shot down in eight regions, including 18 over Novgorod, and later another 23.
Only after Lavrov spoke did the ministry claim that 49 drones intercepted over Bryansk, nearly 300 miles away, also targeted Valdai.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed late on Monday that 91 drones had been intercepted on their way to Putin’s home. (Telegram channel of the Russian Foreign Ministry via AP)
Asked about the wreckage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “a matter for our army,” while calling Zelenskij’s denial and Western skepticism “completely insane.”
Peskov said Russia’s diplomatic stance would be tightened, and Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin vowed there could be “no forgiveness” for Zelensky.
Chell said the story just doesn’t add up. “To attack Putin’s residence you need long-range drones, which move very quickly,” he said.
He added that drones so small to reach such a location should have been launched from a much closer location, probably in Russia itself.
‘They should be within six miles [6.2 miles] – or maybe 20 miles at most – from Putin’s hometown,” Chell said.
“That facility where Putin lives would also be incredibly secure, and so if there were some cheaper, slower-moving drones at that facility, it would be very un-Ukrainian,” Chell said.
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Satellite image from Maxar Technologies shows damage from a Ukrainian drone attack on Belaya Air Base, June 4, in the Irkutsk region of Eastern Siberia, Russia. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
“Ukraine also does not announce when they will appear,” he added.
Chell also noted that nighttime operations would preclude GPS or AI-based navigation due to jamming and visibility limitations, making the launch of dozens of drones even less plausible.
“Apparently the thing happened at night, so that’s very difficult for machine vision or AI mapping software,” he said. “So, you know, GPS was definitely not used because it would have jammed. There’s just a lot of things that don’t add up.”
Politically, Chell argued, Ukraine has nothing to gain. “They are bold, but in the middle of the peace talks – when they need Trump on their side – it makes no sense,” he said. “Ukraine is just too politically smart to have done that.”
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Zelenskiy on Monday also called the claim a complete fabrication and accused Moscow of laying the groundwork for further attacks.
Lavrov warned of retaliation but said Russia would continue talks with Washington.
Trump also said he heard about the alleged attack directly from Putin and was “very angry about it.” Asked if there was evidence, Trump replied: “We’ll find out.”
