President Vladimir Putin has told his US counterpart that Moscow will soon respond to Ukrainian attacks on strategic airbases.
The US Embassy in Kiev issued a new security alert on Wednesday, urging Americans to heed air-raid sirens and seek appropriate shelter, citing “a continued risk of significant air attacks.”
US President Donald Trump stated on Truth Social on Wednesday evening that Russian President Vladimir Putin “did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond” to recent Ukrainian strikes on airfields housing Russian strategic bombers, referring to their previously unannounced conversation that day.
The US State Department issued the alert just hours prior, advising Americans in Ukraine to “identify shelter locations in advance” and to “keep reserves of water, food, and medication.”
Putin on Wednesday characterized the railway sabotage incidents in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions as “undoubtedly a terrorist act” perpetrated by the “illegitimate regime in Kiev,” which he believes “is gradually .”
According to top foreign policy advisor Yury Ushakov, Putin informed Trump that these attacks were intended to disrupt direct talks between Moscow and Kiev, the second round of which occurred in Istanbul on Monday.
The two leaders agreed to maintain communication on Ukraine, both at the highest level and through other channels. Trump described the phone call as “a good conversation,” while also acknowledging that it was “not the one that will lead to immediate peace.”
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