Trump says Putin vowed Russian response to Ukraine drone attack in call

The U.S. president said in a social media post that his lengthy call with Putin 'was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace.'

U.S. President Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him “very strongly” in a phone call Wednesday that he will respond to Ukraine’s weekend drone attack on Russian airfields, as the deadlock over the war drags on and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismisses Russia’s ceasefire proposal.

The U.S. president said in a social media post that his lengthy call with Putin “was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace.”

It’s the first time Trump has weighed in on Ukraine’s daring attack inside Russia. The U.S. did not have advance notice of the operation, according to the White House. The U.S. has led a recent diplomatic push to stop the full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.

Trump, in his social media post, did not say how he reacted to Putin’s promise to respond to Ukraine’s attack, but his post showed none of the frustration that Trump has expressed with his Russian counterpart in recent weeks over his prolonging of the war.

Trump repeatedly promised to end the war quickly, and even said he would accomplish it before he was sworn in. But he lost patience with Putin in recent weeks, publicly pleading with him to stop fighting and even said late last month that the Russian leader “has gone absolutely CRAZY.”

Trump, however, has not committed to backing a bipartisan push to sanction Putin.

During the call, Trump’s first known talk with Putin since May 19, they also discussed Iran’s nuclear program, according to Trump.

It was not clear if Trump also planned to speak with Zelenskyy.