U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said on Dec. 30 that the U.S. is examining intelligence on the Ukrainian drone attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Valdai residence. “It is, seems to me, a little indelicate to be this close at a peace deal, Ukraine really wanting to get a peace deal done and then to do something that would be viewed as reckless or not helpful,” Whitaker told Ashley Websterof Fox News. “We’re going to get to the bottom of the intelligence, and for me, the most important thing is what the United States and our allies’ intelligence services say about whether or not this attack actually happened.”
The previous evening, U.S. President Donald Trump, when asked whether he had received any evidence of the attack from U.S. intelligence services, said that the matter was being clarified. But he seemed to put Putin’s word ahead of any automatic conspiracy theory. He added: “You’re saying maybe the attack didn’t take place. That’s possible too, I guess. But President Putin told me this morning it did.”
