U.S. President Donald Trump warned on June 5 that Russia's response to Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb is likely "not going to be pretty," following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin the day prior.
Trump previously said he spoke to Putin over the phone for approximately an hour and 15 minutes on June 4.
"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 said at the time.
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. Kyiv has claimed it had disabled 34% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet in what is seen as one of the most daring operations during the full-scale war.
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.
"They went deep into Russia and (Putin) actually told me we have no choice but to attack based on that, and it's probably not going to be pretty," Trump said.
"I don't like it, I said don't do it, you shouldn't do it, you should stop it," Trump added.
Putin on June 4 blamed Ukraine’s top leadership for the attacks: "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?"
Russian officials have made few public acknowledgements of the attack. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on June 5 that Moscow will respond when and how the military deems necessary.
Dmytro Basmat
(Updated: )
