Russia’s Putin plans to retaliate after Ukraine drone strikes destroy jets, says Trump 

WASHINGTON - Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin warned him “very strongly” in a call on June 4 that he would respond to Ukraine’s stunning attack on Russian airfields, adding that any immediate prospect of peace remained far off.

Kyiv’s

daring mass drone strikes on June 1

destroyed several nuclear-capable bombers worth billions of dollars, and dominated the third call between the Russian and US presidents since Mr Trump returned to power.

Earlier, Mr Putin had appeared to rule out a ceasefire or any direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Turkey has suggested it could host such negotiations and invited Mr Trump, too.

“It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace,” said Trump in a social media post. “President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”

The US leader added that during his call with Mr Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, launching a grinding war, they had “discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes” as well as other attacks “by both sides”.

The Kremlin described the call, which also focused on negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, as “positive” and “productive.”

Mr Trump has repeatedly alarmed Kyiv and its allies in Europe and elsewhere by pivoting towards Mr Putin over the war, and he had

a blazing Oval Office row

with Mr Zelensky in February.

The US president has, however, also shown growing frustration with Mr Putin – last week

calling him “crazy”

– as Russia has continued attacks and derailed Mr Trump’s campaign pledge to end the war within 24 hours.

Mr Putin’s call with Mr Trump appeared to be part of a diplomatic offensive by the Russian leader, who discussed the Ukraine war with Pope Leo XIV in a telephone conversation on June 4.

The Kremlin said Mr Putin told the US-born pope he wanted peace through diplomacy but added that “the regime in Kyiv is betting on an escalation of the conflict and carrying out of acts of sabotage against civil infrastructure on Russian territory.”

Mr Putin earlier accused Ukraine of being behind “terrorist” attacks on bridges in its border regions over the weekend, including one that caused a train to derail, killing seven people.

He said any full ceasefire would just give Kyiv a chance to rearm.

“Why reward them by giving them a break from the combat, which will be used to pump the regime with Western arms, to continue their forced mobilisation and to prepare different terrorist acts,” Mr Putin said, in a televised government meeting.

Ukraine has been pushing for an unconditional and immediate 30-day truce, issuing its latest proposal to Moscow at

peace talks in Istanbul

on June 2.

‘Ultimatum’

Mr Zelensky said earlier on June 4 that Russia had handed Ukraine an “ultimatum” and recycled old demands in Turkey, where the only concrete agreement was on a series of large-scale prisoner exchanges.

Moscow’s demands included Ukraine fully pulling out of four regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – that Russia claims to have annexed but does not have full control over.

Mr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready “any day” for a meeting proposed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that would also include the US and Russian leaders.

The White House says Mr Trump is “open” to such a meeting.

More than three years into Russia’s invasion, which has cost tens of thousands of lives, the two sides have opened direct talks searching for a way to end what has become Europe’s largest conflict since World War II.

Ukrainian troops have been suffering months of setbacks on the battlefield as Russian forces steadily advance across key sectors of the sprawling front line.

Russia’s army said it had

captured another village in Ukraine’s Sumy border region

as it seeks to establish what it calls a “buffer zone” inside Ukrainian territory.

Kyiv has sought to gain assurances of continued support from Washington. On June 4, senior Zelensky aide Andriy Yermak met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington.

Iran ‘slow-walking’ on deal

The call between Mr Trump and Mr Putin showed that Washington and Moscow may be eying cooperation on another key global issue, however – Iran.

Mr Trump said he believed they were both “in agreement” that Iran could not have a nuclear weapon, and that

time was running out for Tehran

to respond to US offers of a deal.

“President Putin suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion,” Mr Trump said.

The US president added: “It is my opinion that Iran has been slow-walking their decision on this very important matter, and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!”

Mr Putin told his Iranian counterpart, Mr Masoud Pezeshkian, that Moscow was ready to help advance talks on a nuclear deal, the Kremlin said on June 3.

But Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said earlier on June 4 that Washington’s proposal was against Tehran’s national interest, amid sharp differences over whether Tehran can continue to enrich uranium. AFP