UKRAINE HAS SAID there was no “plausible evidence” it launched a drone attack on one of Vladimir Putin’s homes, accusing Russia of making false claims to manipulate the peace process.

“Almost a day passed and Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence to its accusations of Ukraine’s alleged ‘attack on Putin’s residence.’ And they won’t. Because there’s none. No such attack happened,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said in a post on X.

The Kremlin said attempts by Ukraine and Western media to deny the incident were “insane”, and that Russia should not have to provide evidence for the alleged attack as all the drones were shot down.

The comments come as Ukraine ordered the evacuation of more than a dozen settlements in the northern Chernigiv region, which borders Moscow-allied Belarus and has been the target of Russian shelling.

“At the Defense Council, a decision was made on mandatory evacuation from 14 border villages,” regional leader Viacheslav Chaus said, adding:  ”The border area is under daily shelling. Despite the real threat, 300 people still live there.

Ukraine says it has agreed to 90 percent of a US-drafted peace plan – including the issue of post-war security guarantees – but Russia has been hesitant to accept a deal that does not meet its maximalist demands.

The Kremlin said Tuesday it would “toughen” its negotiating position in response to the alleged attack.

“As for the military consequences, our military knows how, with what, and when to respond,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters.