The Kremlin said Thursday that Russia will decide “how and when” to respond to recent Ukrainian attacks on its airbases. The statement came after Russian leader Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump during a phone call that Russia would retaliate.
Ukrainian strikes over the weekend hit airbases deep inside Russia, damaging aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons, infuriating Moscow.
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“As and when our military deems it appropriate,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked what Moscow’s response would be.
The targeted airfields were located far from the front lines, including some in Siberia.
Trump shared details of his conversation with Putin in social media post on Wednesday.
“President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields,” Trump wrote.
Trump did not elaborate on how Russia may respond to the attacks, but Russia has launched record numbers of drones at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in recent weeks.
Putin has refused calls for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. On Wednesday, he repeated his claim that Kyiv would use the pause to regroup and rearm.
Trump has been lowering expectations for peace negotiations in recent weeks, as Ukraine and Russia seem no closer to a peace deal.
The US president has consistently argued that he could negotiate peace in a direct meeting with Putin, or in a trilateral meeting with the leaders of the US, Ukraine, and Russia, but Peskov said on Tuesday that a meeting between the leaders is “unlikely anytime soon.”
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The Kremlin reiterated during the call that no meeting date between Trump and Putin was set, but added there is “an understanding that a meeting is necessary.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for direct talks with Putin, but the Russian strongman dismissed the idea on Wednesday.
“What can we talk about with terrorists?” Putin said.
Spideweb Operation
Ukraine carried out a large-scale drone strike on Russian airfields as part of Operation Spiderweb on Sunday, June 1.
The drones, enhanced with artificial intelligence and launched from cargo trucks inside Russia, reportedly damaged or destroyed more than 40 aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers and an A-50 airborne radar plane. The estimated cost of the damage ranged from $2 billion to as high as $7 billion, Ukrainian officials said.
On Wednesday, Zelensky honored members of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for their role in the special operation.
He said the operation showed Ukraine’s ability to fight back and weaken Russia’s military forces.
“In the face of such aggression, Ukraine not only has the right but also the duty to defend itself,” Zelensky said.
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