He said they gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them”
Ukraine’s drone attacks on long-range nuclear-capable Russian bombers sharply increased the risk of escalation and gave Moscow a valid reason to retaliate with force, Trump told reporters on Friday
Putin retaliated on Friday with with early morning strikes at targets in Kiev, Lviv and Lutsk.
RT reports: In addition to launching a coordinated drone strike on multiple airbases, Ukraine also blew up railway bridges in Russia last week, derailing both civilian and freight trains, killing at least seven people, and injuring over 120 others, including children. President Vladimir Putin discussed the attacks in a phone call with his US counterpart on Wednesday, warning that Moscow’s inevitable response is justified.
Trump told journalists on Friday that he “didn’t like” the escalation when asked whether Kiev’s attack on a key component of Russia’s nuclear triad changed his view of “what’s at stake” and what “cards” Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky holds.
“Well, they gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night,” Trump stated. “That’s something I didn’t like about it. When I saw it, I said: ‘Here we go… now it’s going to be a strike.’”
In response to the recent “terrorist acts” by Kiev, the Russian military carried out large-scale strikes against Ukrainian defense industry sites early Friday morning, using air-, sea-, and land-based missiles as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to the Defense Ministry.
The targets of the overnight strikes included “design bureaus, enterprises involved in the production and repair of Ukraine’s weapons and military equipment, workshops for the assembly of attack drones, flight training centers, as well as warehouses of weapons and military equipment,” the statement said.
Putin described the deadly railway sabotage incidents as “undoubtedly a terrorist act” committed by the “illegitimate regime in Kiev,” which, he said, is “gradually turning into a terrorist organization.”
Russia’s retaliation came on Friday when they carried out large-scale strikes against Ukrainian defense industry sites, using drones and long-range precision-guided weapons.
According to RT “The barrage, which included air-, sea-, and land-based missiles as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), was a response to recent ‘terrorist acts’ carried out by Kiev, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Friday.