Putin 'will have to respond' to Ukraine's attack on Russian bombers, Trump says after call with Kremlin chief
Editor's Note: This story is being updated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin "will have to respond" to Ukraine's recent drone attack on military airfields, U.S. President Donald Trump said on June 4 after holding a call with the Russian president.
Trump said he spoke to Putin over the phone for approximately an hour and 15 minutes on June 4.
"We discussed the attack on Russia's docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account after the call.
"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."
Trump made no further comments regarding the "response" and did not say whether the U.S. had urged restraint.
Ukraine on June 1 launched a game-changing drone attack on four key Russian military airfields, damaging 41 planes, including heavy bombers and rare A-50 spy planes.
The operation, dubbed Spiderweb, took 18 months to plan and was overseen directly by President Volodymyr Zelensky and carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The SBU said 117 drones, launched from concealed trucks positioned across Russian territory, simultaneously struck airfields in at least four regions — including sites thousands of kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
The Kremlin was initially quiet about the operation. Days after the attack, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on June 3 said that Putin had been informed of the "incident" and that an investigation had been launched.
Trump was also uncharacteristically silent about the attack, which was hailed in Ukraine as a major success. The White House confirmed on June 3 that Ukraine did not inform Trump in advance about the operation.
Trump's Special Envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, warned that the attack could lead to escalations in the full-scale war.
"I'm telling you the risk levels are going way up," Kellogg told Fox News on June 3. "When you attack an opponent's part of their national survival system, which is their nuclear triad, that means your risk level goes up because you don't know what the other side's going to do."
Ukraine's drone strike followed several days of Russian escalation as Moscow launched some of the heaviest aerial attacks in the full-scale war over a span of three nights. Operation Spiderweb targeted some of the very bombers that rained destruction on Ukrainian cities and civilian targets.
Zelensky said on June 4 that Ukraine would not have carried out the attack on Russia's airfields if Moscow had agreed to the many proposals for a ceasefire put forth since March.
Operation Spiderweb struck Russia the day before the second round of direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow took place in Istanbul on June 2. The U.S. has praised the talks as a sign of Trump's successful intervention in the peace process — even though Russia continues to reject a ceasefire.
Putin said on June 4 that Russia was no longer interested in negotiating with Ukraine.
"The current Kyiv regime does not need peace at all," he said during a televised meeting with senior officials. "What is there to talk about? How can we negotiate with those who rely on terror?"
Despite the Kremlin's persistent refusal to impose a ceasefire or make significant steps towards peace, Trump has not followed through on threats to sanction Russia. While Republican lawmakers, including staunch Trump allies, have rallied around legislation sanctioning Russia, Trump has shied away from pressuring Moscow.