Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held a phone call in recent hours to discuss Ukraine’s drone strike on Russian air bases hosting nuclear-capable bombers. The conversation lasted 75 minutes, according to a statement posted by the U.S. president on Truth Social on Wednesday.
During the call, Trump said the two leaders spoke about the drone attack launched by Kyiv over the weekend and “various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides.” According to Trump, the Russian president stated “very strongly” that he would respond.
“It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace,” Trump wrote.
The June 1 attack targeted at least four Russian strategic air bases and reportedly damaged around 40 long-range bombers. Among the sites hit was the Belaya air base, located in Russia’s Irkutsk region, nearly 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) from Kyiv.
According to Ukrainian sources, the operation — dubbed “Spider’s Web” — involved 117 small drones launched from short range. The devices had been smuggled into Russian territory, concealed beneath retractable wooden roofs, and remotely piloted toward their targets. In some cases, artificial intelligence was used to guide the drones to impact.
The other air bases reportedly struck include Dyagilevo (781 km from Kyiv), Ivanovo (1,017 km), and Olenya (1,982 km), all of which house long-range bombers. Under Russia’s revised strategic doctrine, updated in 2023, any direct attack on these sites could be interpreted as grounds for a retaliatory nuclear strike against Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the operation as “absolutely brilliant.” He said that, based on available intelligence, 41 aircraft had been damaged and that at least half of them are “beyond repair.”
There has been no official confirmation from the Russian side regarding the number of aircraft hit. Military sources in Moscow referred only to “hostile activity” within Russian territory and called for strengthened domestic air defenses.
Separately, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the state-run Tass news agency on Wednesday that President Putin also spoke by phone with Pope Leo XIV — the first such call since the U.S.-born pontiff’s election in May. According to the Kremlin, the two discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, with Putin describing a recent escalation following the drone strikes and reaffirming his willingness to seek a diplomatic solution.
Putin also voiced hope that the Holy See would take a “more active” stance in defending religious freedom in Ukraine, a reference to longstanding Russian accusations of religious persecution by Kyiv.
“A mutual desire was expressed to deepen cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere, as well as in the protection of Christians and Christian shrines in various regions of the world, in particular in the Middle East,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Trump-Putin phone call occurred outside formal diplomatic channels. The White House has not issued a comment. The Kremlin has not released further details.
