Trump says Putin warned he will respond to Ukraine drone strikes
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The news: US President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin told him he “will have to respond” to Ukraine’s recent drone attacks on Russian airfields.
In a social media post Trump said the two spoke for about an hour and 15 minutes, discussing the weekend’s attack on Russia’s docked airplanes and “various other attacks” by both sides.
He described it as “a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace.”
Trump said they also discussed Iran, agreed that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” and that Putin “suggested that he will participate in discussions” on the nuclear issue.
The context: The call came after Ukraine’s 1 June drone attacks on four military airports inside Russia, that delivered the biggest blow of the war against Moscow’s long-range bomber fleet.
It was the first call between the two leaders since the strikes. It also came just days after a second round of direct talks in Istanbul between Ukraine and Russia ended without a breakthrough, although both sides agreed to a prisoner swap.
Earlier, Putin dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s offer for direct leader-level negotiations, asking during a televised meeting with government officials, “How can such meetings be held under these conditions? What is there to talk about?”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected a US proposal allowing temporary uranium enrichment before a complete phase-out, saying it breached Iran’s principles of independence.
He posted on X: “Why are you interfering and trying to say whether Iran should have uranium enrichment or not? That’s none of your business.”
Khamenei’s comments were the clearest signal of Iran’s likely rejection, as the US prepares next steps and the IAEA considers pushing the matter to the UN Security Council.
The sources: Donald Trump post, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei post, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal
