Trump says Putin will hit back at Ukraine for surprise drone attack, help Iran nuke talks

Russia will retaliate in response to Sunday’s surprise Ukrainian drone attacks and indicated willingness to help U.S. negotiators strike a deal with Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Donald Trump in a phone call Wednesday.

Trump and Putin talked for an hour and fifteen minutes on Wednesday, Trump describing the call as a “good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace,” he shared on Truth Social Wednesday. The covert drone attack from Ukraine complicated peace prospects in the region, and U.S. talks with Iran about the latter’s nuclear program also currently appear to be at an impasse.

“President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields,” Trump said in his post. “We also discussed Iran, and the fact that time is running out on Iran’s decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly! I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement. 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.”

The surprise attack utilized covert containers to ship in drones deep into the Russian interior over the course of months, hitting assets as deep as the furthest reaches of Siberia. Ukraine claims to have damaged nearly a third of Russia’s strategic bombing fleet, which includes nuclear bombing assets.

Ukraine and Russia failed to make substantial progress Monday during peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey. The two sides have now warred for three years, taking countless Russian and Ukrainian lives while the front lines remain relatively stagnant; notably, Vice President JD Vance told reporters in April that now may be the time for the U.S. to “walk away” from peace talks if Moscow and Kiev refuse to make serious progress toward ending the war.

Russia maintains close, if not complex, relations with Iran, with Western sanctions bringing the two nations closer together since the start of the Ukraine war. Iran has aided Russia in prosecuting the war in Ukraine, as Tehran sent a stock of missiles to the front in exchange for Russian fighter jets in 2024.

Some reports on Monday suggested that the Trump administration was willing to let Iran enrich some uranium in a proposed nuclear deal, but Trump shot down the reports that night, reiterating his commitment to no enrichment. Iran subsequently said Wednesday that it is rejecting the U.S. proposal, vowing to continue enriching uranium for their nuclear program.

The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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