Putin Warns Trump of Potential Response to Ukrainian Drone Attacks
During a phone call on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin informed former U.S. President Donald Trump that Moscow is likely to retaliate following recent drone strikes in Ukraine. Trump shared the details of their conversation, stating they discussed incursions into Russia, including attacks on Russian aircraft.
According to Trump, Putin made it very clear that he would need to respond to the strikes on airfields. The former president described the conversation as "productive," but he cautioned that it didn’t indicate an immediate path to peace.
Moscow had previously announced that various military options were being considered in response to the Ukrainian assaults deep within Russian territory. Russia also called on Western nations like the U.S. and the U.K. to encourage restraint from Kyiv after Ukrainian officials praised the attacks, asserting they demonstrated Ukraine’s resilience after more than three years of conflict.
Both U.S. and British representatives denied any prior knowledge of the attacks on Russian long-range bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
In addition to the topic of Ukraine, Trump mentioned that he and Putin spoke about Iran. Putin showed willingness to engage in discussions aimed at reaching a new nuclear agreement with Tehran. Trump insisted that Iran should not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons and claimed that they seemed to agree on this issue. However, he accused Iran of delaying key decisions regarding the negotiations.
Trump expressed increasing frustration toward Putin, primarily due to Russia’s obstruction of his ambitious goal to end the conflict within 24 hours—despite not providing a clear plan on how he intended to achieve this.
The call between Trump and Putin also hinted at possible collaboration on global issues, particularly concerning Iran. Trump emphasized the urgency for Tehran to respond to U.S. proposals for a deal.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin indicated that Moscow was prepared to facilitate negotiations for a new nuclear agreement, but Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected the U.S. proposal as contrary to Tehran’s national interests, especially regarding uranium enrichment.
