Vladimir Putin claims that he will take action after Ukraine launched a drone attack on Russian airfields over the weekend, said Donald Trump after they held a phone conversation
Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin told him “very strongly” in a phone call on Wednesday that he will respond to Ukraine’s weekend drone attack on Russian airfields.
The US president said in a social media post that “it was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace.” The call that lasted for an hour and 15 minutes was Trump’s first known with Putin since May 19 and took place this afternoon. Trump said he and Putin also discussed Iran’s nuclear programme. The call came after an Ukrainian drone attack on Russian airfields over the weekend and Trump said he discussed the matter with Putin.
“I just finished speaking, by telephone, with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia,” stated Trump on Truth Social. “We discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides.
“It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace. President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”
On Iran’s threat, Trump claimed that Putin was in agreement that the country shouldn’t have a nuclear weapon.
“We also discussed Iran, and the fact that time is running out on Iran’s decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly! I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement,” said Trump.
“President Putin suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion. It is my opinion that Iran has been slowwalking their decision on this very important matter, and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!”
Ukraine’s Security Service gave more details on Wednesday about its weekend drone strike on Russian air bases, which it claimed destroyed or damaged 41 Russian aircraft, including strategic bombers.
The agency claimed the planes struck included A-50, Tu-95, Tu-22, Tu-160, An-12, and Il-78 aircraft, adding that artificial intelligence helped guide the drones thousands of kilometres from Ukraine.
It also said it set off an explosion on Tuesday on the seabed beneath the Kerch Bridge, a vital transport link between Russia and illegally annexed Crimea, claiming it caused damage to the structure. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that there was no damage.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that its troops have taken control of another village in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, on the border with Russia. Putin announced on May 22 that Russian troops aim to create a buffer zone that might help prevent Ukrainian cross-border attacks. Since then, Russia’s Ministry of Defence claims its forces have taken control of nine Sumy villages.
While the drone strikes, which reached deep into Russian territory, have been hailed in Ukraine as a strategic triumph, in Moscow, the embarrassment has boiled over into fury.
In a video conference with top Russian officials, Putin denounced Ukraine’s attacks as “terrorist acts,” pointing specifically to recent sabotage operations on railway lines in Russia’s Kursk and Bryansk regions. He warned that conditions were not good to peace negotiations, suggesting instead that Ukraine was stalling to rearm and regroup.
“How can any such (summit) meetings be conducted in such circumstances? What shall we talk about?” he asked. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky swiftly responded, calling Russia’s proposed ceasefire terms “an ultimatum” and branding the Istanbul negotiations as “artificial diplomacy”.
He said: “The same ultimatums they voiced back then — now they just put them on paper … Honestly, this document looks like spam. It’s spam meant to flood us and create the impression that they’re doing something.” While Ukraine presses for a US-mediated ceasefire ahead of any direct leader summit, Putin remains dismissive.