President Trump thought Ukraine’s surprise drone attack over the weekend was “strong” and “badass,” sources who discussed it with him tell Axios, but he’s also concerned it will make his ceasefire mission even harder.
He has been surprisingly mum in public when it comes to his personal feelings about Ukraine’s attack.
The flipside: Trump also told people he met with in recent days that the drone attack likely would push Putin to retaliate very significantly, another source with knowledge said.
Between the lines: One reason Ukraine’s attack concerned 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.
The bottom line: “The drone attack didn’t surprise him, because this is what happens when the war continues, but he is concerned that it will prolong the fighting.
According to sources who spoke with him, President Trump called Ukraine’s surprise drone attack over the weekend “strong” and “badass,” but he is also worried that it will make his ceasefire effort even more difficult, Axios reports.
Why it matters: The carefully thought-out attack on Russia’s most vital air bases, carried out from a distance of thousands of miles, not only implied that Ukraine had more “cards” than Trump gave them credit for, but it also successfully challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to escalate in retaliation.
Trump claimed on Wednesday that Putin had warned him “very strongly” that he would retaliate. Regarding their call, Trump stated, “It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace,”.
When it comes to his personal feelings regarding the attack on Ukraine, he has been surprisingly silent in public. But behind closed doors, he was in awe of the procedure.
Backstage: “Very strong,” Trump said to one confidant, who then told Axios about his comments.
Regarding Trump’s response, a second source stated, “He thought it was badass,”.
“From a global standpoint, you have a chihuahua causing some serious harm to a much larger dog,” stated one Trump advisor. “..”.
On the other hand, according to another source with knowledge, Trump also informed those he met with recently that the drone strike would probably force Putin to take very strong retaliatory action.
According to the source, Trump is worried that the situation will undo his diplomatic initiative, which led to the first direct discussions between the parties in three years.
“We want this conflict to be over. De-escalation is what we want. Therefore, the president is worried if Putin reacts irrationally,” according to a second source who spoke with Trump.
In a meeting that was aired on both Russian and Ukrainian television, Putin stated Wednesday that the attacks cast doubt on any ceasefire or leader-level meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Reality check: Zelensky pointed out that Putin had been refusing to pursue a ceasefire long before the attack, and the recent negotiations showed no signs of progress.
Regretfully, Putin feels unaccountable. Russia is allegedly planning more “responses” despite all of its horrifying attacks. In a subtle jab at Trump, he wrote on X Wednesday, “It means that with every new strike, with every delay of diplomacy, Russia is giving the finger to the entire world — to all those who still hesitate to increase pressure on it.”.
Between the lines: The White House was concerned about Ukraine’s attack because it targeted long-range bombers, which are essential to Russia’s nuclear deterrence strategy and are capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
The United States said, “This is a very dangerous point,”. A. said the official.
The gist: “He is worried that the drone attack will prolong the fighting, but he wasn’t surprised because this is what happens when the war goes on. It annoys him whenever there is an attack like that because he wants the fighting to end,” a senior White House official stated.
Trump was nevertheless impressed by what the Ukrainians accomplished in spite of those reservations.
