Trump admires Ukraine's "cool" attack on Russian airfields, but worries about what's next
Kyiv • UNN
Donald Trump called Ukraine's drone attack on Russian airfields "strong and cool", but is concerned that it could complicate his mission to cease fire due to possible escalation.
U.S. President Donald Trump considered Ukraine's drone attack on Russian airfields "strong" and "cool," but he is also concerned that it will further complicate his mission to end the war. This was reported by Axios, citing sources, reports UNN.
Details
Sources who discussed it with him say Trump considered Ukraine's surprise drone attack last weekend "strong" and "cool," but he is also concerned that it will further complicate his mission to end the war.
Axios notes that the carefully planned operation on Russia's most important strategic airbases, carried out remotely from thousands of miles away, showed that Ukraine has more "cards" than Trump thought, but also effectively challenged Vladimir Putin and pushed him to escalate in response.
Trump said on Wednesday that Putin told him "very decisively" that he would strike back.
It was a good conversation, but not one that will lead to immediate peace
He has been surprisingly silent in public about his attitude about the attack on Ukraine. However, in private he admired the operation.
Behind the scenes: "Pretty strong"
He thought it was cool
One Trump adviser said: "From an international point of view, a chihuahua is doing real damage to a much larger dog."
The source also said that Trump believes that the drone attack is likely to push Putin to take very substantial retaliatory measures.
Trump is concerned that this scenario will undermine his diplomatic initiative, which led to the first direct talks between the parties in three years, the source said.
We want this war to end. We want it to de-escalate. So if Putin goes crazy in response, yes, the president has concerns
Axios notes that recent talks between Ukraine and Russia have shown no signs of a breakthrough, and Zelensky has noted that Putin refused to seek a ceasefire long before the attack.
As Axios writes, one of the reasons why the attack on Ukraine worried the White House was that it targeted long-range bombers that can carry nuclear weapons and are a key part of Russia's nuclear deterrence.
This is a very dangerous moment
A senior White House official said that Trump was not surprised by the drone attack, because that is what happens when the war is going on, but he is concerned that it will prolong the fighting.
He wants the fighting to stop, so he is frustrated every time such an attack occurs
Despite these concerns, Trump was also impressed by what the Ukrainians did.
Addition
Following the results of the special operation "Spiderweb", the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the loss of 41 military aircraft by the occupiers as a result of the SBU special operation "Spiderweb". Among the destroyed targets are strategic bombers and other combat aircraft.
The SBU reported on the special operation "Spiderweb", as a result of which the enemy's strategic aviation was hit with an estimated value of 7 billion US dollars. The SBU indicated that 34% of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main airfields of the Russian Federation were hit.