The former US president expressed his disapproval of Kiev’s aggressive actions targeting Russia’s nuclear capabilities.
Former US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that Ukraine’s recent drone attacks on Russian airfields, which house bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons, significantly heightened the risk of escalation and provided Moscow with justification for a strong response.
In addition to the coordinated drone strikes on multiple Russian airbases, Ukraine also reportedly destroyed railway bridges within Russia last week, causing civilian and freight trains to derail, resulting in at least seven deaths and over 120 injuries, including children. President Vladimir Putin reportedly discussed these attacks with his US counterpart in a phone call on Wednesday, asserting that Moscow’s response would be decisive and justified.
Trump told journalists on Friday that he “didn’t like” the escalation when questioned about whether Kiev’s attack on a key component of Russia’s nuclear arsenal had altered his perception of “what’s at stake” and the leverage held by Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky.
“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.’”
Putin characterized the deadly railway sabotage incidents as “undoubtedly a terrorist act” perpetrated by the “illegitimate regime in Kiev,” which, he claimed, is “gradually [resorting to barbarism].”
Moscow has accused Kiev of escalating its attacks in an attempt to disrupt US-backed peace negotiations. Russia also alleges that Trump is receiving biased information about the conflict in Ukraine from sources pushing for increased US support for Kiev.
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