WASHINGTON — President Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, acknowledging afterward that it was “not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace” between Russia and Ukraine.
“We discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides,” Trump announced after the 75-minute talk with the Kremlin tyrant.
“President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”
Ukraine launched a secret attack on Russia over the weekend by sneaking a truck full of drones across the border — before unleashing the aircraft to target 40 Russian strategic bombers — roughly 36% of its nuclear-capable fleet — in attacks that reached into Siberia and the Arctic.
On Tuesday, Kyiv then bombed the Kerch bridge connecting Crimea with the Russian mainland, in another blow to Putin’s military prestige.
While the strikes have had serious logistical and financial consequences for Moscow, military analysts say the larger effect may be psychological — key to pushing Putin to the negotiating table.
“Ukraine continues to strike strategic targets deep in Russia in order to change Putin’s calculus,” the Atlantic Council’s Alex Plitsas posted to X. “He won’t negotiate in good faith until he believes the cost outweighs potential gains.”
The psychological impact on Ukraine’s allies has also been evidence, as Kyiv President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday claimed that the operations inside Russia have helped shift the narrative of even American assessments of the war.
“It’s already shifting from talks (of) ‘Ukrainians are losing this war and don’t have the cards,’” he said.
Russia has yet to carry out a large-scale attack in response to Ukraine’s audacious moves, which Trump did not pass judgement on in his post.
Trump said he and Putin also spoke about Iran, during which Putin suggested that Russia could potentially get involved in sealing a revised nuclear deal with Tehran — one of Moscow’s close geopolitical allies.
“I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement,” Trump wrote.
“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. It is my opinion that Iran has been slowwalking their decision on this very important matter, and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!”
However, analysts have warned that Russia cannot be trusted to influence Iran to be a responsible actor.
Iran has supplied Russia with military equipment — including drones — in its war on Ukraine and the two countries have grown closer in opposition to US geopolitical goals.
The president has sent administration officials, including special envoy Steve Witkoff, to try and forge a deal with Iran that would prevent the theocratic regime from having enough uranium to build a nuclear weapon.
On Wednesday, Iran’s supreme leader shunned a reported US proposal that would have allowed Tehran to continue low-level uranium enrichment for civilian uses during a mutually agreed period of time.
Trump has threatened to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities if no deal is reached, but has stressed that he wants to achieve a diplomatic coup if at all possible.
