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Donald Trump was apparently impressed by Ukraine's raid on Russian airfields (Image: GETTY)
Donald Trump privately described Ukraine’s weekend drone strike on Russian air bases as "strong" and "badass" — while warning it could make a peace deal harder to achieve, sources who discussed the matter with him have claimed.
The US President has made few public comments about the operation, which saw Ukrainian forces launch long-range drone attacks on strategic bomber airfields deep inside Russian territory. However, behind the scenes, Mr Trump is understood to have expressed a mix of awe and unease. One source close to the US President said: "He thought it was badass." Another told Axios that his immediate reaction was to call the operation "pretty strong."
Ukraine says it destroyed Russian bombers worth billions of dollars in the raids (Image: 2025 Planet Labs PBC/AFP via Get)
A third adviser who spoke to him added: "From an international perspective, you’ve got a chihuahua inflicting some real damage on a much bigger dog."
The mission, planned remotely and executed from thousands of miles away, hit bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons and sent a clear message that Ukraine retains operational reach far beyond the frontline.
Nevertheless, it also risked provoking a severe response from Moscow — and undermining Mr Trump’s diplomatic initiative, which recently led to the first direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in years.
Mr Trump said of his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday: "It was a good conversation but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace."
Drone strikes reportedly damage Russian airbases
He stressed that Mr Putin had told him "very strongly" that retaliation was coming.
A source familiar with the former President’s thinking said: "We want this war to end. We want it to de-escalate. So if Putin goes crazy in response, yeah, the president has concerns."
Mr Putin also appeared on Russian and Ukrainian television on Wednesday, claiming the strike had cast doubt over the prospects for a ceasefire or a leader-level meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Despite concerns about escalation, a senior White House official said Mr Trump was impressed by Ukraine’s performance. The source said: "The drone attack didn’t surprise him … but he is concerned that it will prolong the fighting."
Vladimir Putin has vowed to hit back (Image: Getty)
The operation by Ukraine’s Security Service, codenamed "Spiderweb" and personally overseen by Mr Zelensky, involved more than 18 months of painstaking planning and great risk.
It came to fruition at a time in the three-year-old war when peace talks have failed to deliver the unconditional ceasefire long-sought by Kyiv, and as Moscow continues to launch record-breaking numbers of drone and missile barrages.
The attack on Sunday encapsulates Ukraine’s wartime strategy: Outnumbered, outgunned and dependent on Western partners, Ukrainian military planners have sought innovative and cost-effective means to exact Russian losses, often leaning on the element of surprise.
Mr Zelensky said 117 drones were used in the operation in which four military airfields were attacked resulting in the severe damage or destruction of 34% of Russia’s fleet of air missile carriers.
In a post on X he said: "Unfortunately, Putin feels impunity.
"Even after all of Russia’s horrific attacks, he is reportedly preparing yet more so-called 'responses'.
"It means that with every new strike, with every delay of diplomacy, Russia is giving the finger to the entire world — to all those who still hesitate to increase pressure on it.”
Posting on Telegram, he added: "Of course, not everything can be revealed at this moment but these are Ukrainian actions that will undoubtedly be in history books."
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