Trump Says Putin on Call Vowed Retaliation for Drone Strike

Donald Trump on Wednesday broadcast Vladimir Putin’s warning that he’ll retaliate against Ukraine for its recent stunning drone strikes deep inside Russian territory, the clearest signal yet that the US president’s peace efforts have stalled.

Posting on his Truth Social platform after he said the two spoke by phone, Trump made no reference to additional sanctions or his repeated calls for a ceasefire, which Putin has ignored, nor a potential meeting between leaders, which Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenksiy said he supports.

Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall reports.

“It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace,” Trump said of the call, which he said lasted about an hour and 15 minutes. “President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”

Trump campaigned on ending the war in Ukraine quickly, citing his relationship with Putin, but has also threatened to walk away if the two sides can’t agree to terms. His readiness to distance himself from peace talks and post-war security has also rattled allies in Europe.

A series of daring attacks by Ukraine against Russian targets marked an embarrassing setback for the Kremlin, including the assault over the weekend on airfields as far away as Siberia using drones hidden in trucks.

The Kremlin’s description of Wednesday’s call made no reference to possible retaliation, highlighting instead that Moscow hopes the two sides can continue talking. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov also said Trump told Putin he didn’t have advance notice of the operation.

Earlier in the day, Putin dismissed an offer from Zelenskiy for direct top-level negotiations during an address, in which he didn’t mention the airbase strikes.

“How can such meetings be held under these conditions? What is there to talk about?” Putin said during a televised meeting with government officials, citing separate attacks on bridges he blamed on Ukraine.

Russia and Ukrainian officials spoke in Istanbul Monday in their second publicly announced meeting, sharing documents through Turkish intermediaries, and planning to meet again later this month. They also agreed to work toward a new exchange of prisoners.

However, Zelenskiy on Wednesday said that such talks aren’t productive and stressed he’s willing to speak directly with Putin.

“To continue diplomatic meetings in Istanbul at a level that does not resolve anything further is, in my opinion, meaningless,” Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv, calling Russia’s conditions for peace an “ultimatum.”

He proposed a ceasefire until a leaders’ meeting at a location “of Russia’s choice,” including Istanbul, the Vatican, or Switzerland. The Kremlin on Wednesday said Putin also spoke to Pope Leo XIV about his “interest in achieving peace through political and diplomatic means.” During the call “the Pope made an appeal for Russia to make a gesture that favors peace,” according to a readout from the Vatican.

In Washington, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said he met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and discussed the Istanbul talks and “the further course of negotiations.”

Trump also said that Russia may take a role in negotiations with Iran, another flashpoint where the US president has struggled to show results while making unspecified threats of consequences for Tehran.

“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,” Trump said. “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!”

The Kremlin, meanwhile, was even less committal on Iran, saying after the call that Trump said he thinks Russia could provide help and he would be appreciative of it.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier in the day criticized a US proposal for a nuclear deal and called American officials “arrogant” for expecting the Islamic Republic to cease uranium enrichment.

--------

Watch Bloomberg Radio LIVE on YouTube

Weekdays 7am-6pm ET

Follow us on X

Subscribe to our Podcasts:

Bloomberg Daybreak

Bloomberg Surveillance

Bloomberg Intelligence

Balance of Power

Bloomberg Businessweek

Listen on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app:

Apple CarPlay

Android Auto

Visit our YouTube channels:

Bloomberg Podcasts

Bloomberg Television

Bloomberg Originals