"There will be response now, and it won’t be pretty" – Trump on Putin’s reaction to Operation Pavutyna
US President Donald Trump reiterated that dictator Vladimir Putin told him he would retaliate against Ukraine for the attack on strategic aviation.
As reported by Censor.NET, citing Hromadske, Trump made the statement during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
According to the US president, Putin had been dealt a "heavy" blow.
"[Putin] actually told me he had no other choice but to strike back because of this — and it probably won’t be very pleasant. And it’s probably not going to be pretty," Trump said.
Trump said he "doesn’t like it" and urged the Russian leader "not to do it."
Nevertheless, the US president said he still believes in the possibility of a ceasefire, comparing the war between Russia and Ukraine to "two little kids fighting like crazy in a park."
"Sometimes it’s better to let them fight it out a bit — and then pull them apart," Trump added.
When asked about new sanctions against Russia, Trump replied that he had the date "in his head."
As a reminder, the day before, the US president held a phone conversation with the Russian leader that lasted approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. It followed Operation Pavutyna ("Spiderweb") carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service. According to hromadske, intelligence officers managed to strike 41 Russian aircraft.
During the conversation with Trump, Putin vowed to "respond to the airfield attacks." Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the response would take place "when and in the way the military deems appropriate."
However, Peskov noted that the Kremlin had expected a strong condemnation of the SSU’s large-scale attack from the United States.
According to Axios, citing unnamed confidants of Trump, the US president privately described Ukraine’s recent operations as "strong" and thought "it was cool."
