US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke for more than an hour during which the Russian leader made it very clear that Moscow will “have to respond” to the daring drone attack launched by Ukraine deep inside Russia.
“Putin said very strongly that he will have to respond to Ukraine’s drone attack,” President Trump said immediately after getting off the phone with his Russian counterpart.
On Sunday, Ukraine carried out what has been described by war analysts as the most audacious drone attack in military history, targeting and destroying Russian Air Force jets parked at strategic air bases deep inside Russian territory. The attack left dozens of Russia’s strategic bombers, transport aircraft, and airborne warning aircraft decimated.
Moscow was caught off-guard presumably over the fact that these airbases are located so far inside Russia that the sheer distance was enough to keep aircraft safe from a Ukrainian attack. The attack has given a huge boost to Kyiv’s morale, while creating a big dent on the morale of Moscow. Though peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow went as planned a day after the stunning attack, the conflict has intensified in the last 48 hours.
Meanwhile, President Trump spoke with President Putin today. “I just finished speaking, by telephone, with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia. The call lasted approximately one hour and 15 minutes. We discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides,” President Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social.