Trump says Putin told him Russia will respond to Ukrainian airfield attack
US president
Donald Trump
has said Russian president
Vladimir Putin
told him 'very strongly' in a phone call on Wednesday that he will respond to
Ukraine
's weekend drone attack on Russian airfields.
The US president said in a social media post that 'it was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace.'
The call that lasted for an hour and 15 minutes was Mr Trump's first known with Mr Putin since May 19th.
Mr Trump said he and Mr Putin also discussed Iran's nuclear programme.
READ MORE
Ukraine's security service gave more details on Wednesday about its weekend drone strike on Russian airbases, which it claimed destroyed or damaged 41 Russian aircraft, including strategic bombers.
The agency claimed the planes struck included A-50, Tu-95, Tu-22, Tu-160, An-12, and Il-78 aircraft, adding that artificial intelligence helped guide the drones thousands of kilometres from Ukraine.
It also said it set off an explosion on Tuesday on the seabed beneath the Kerch Bridge, a vital transport link between Russia and illegally annexed Crimea, claiming it caused damage to the structure.
But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that there was no damage.
Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday that its troops have taken control of another village in Ukraine's northern Sumy region, on the border with Russia.
Mr Putin announced on May 22nd that Russian troops aim to create a buffer zone that might help prevent Ukrainian cross-border attacks. Since then, Russia's ministry of defence has claimed its forces have taken control of nine Sumy villages.
Mr Trump says part of his call with Mr Putin was focused on Iran and 'the fact that time is running out on Iran's decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly!'
Mr Trump said in a post on his social media site that he told Russia's president 'that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement'.
He said Mr Putin suggested 'that he will participate in the discussions with Iran' and could perhaps 'be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion'.
Mr Trump previously boasted that a major announcement on Iran was coming – but none has materialised.
He suggested in his latest post that Iran has been slow-walking their decision 'and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!'. – AP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
US strikes three Iranian nuclear sites
President Donald Trump said that the United States military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear programme in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, quoting a provincial official, confirmed attacks on Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites. The decision to directly involve the US in the war comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound (13,500-kg) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear programme buried deep underground. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,' Mr Trump said in a post on social media. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.' Mr Trump added in a later post that he would address the national audience at 10pm eastern time, writing: 'This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!' Trump said B-2 stealth bombers were used but did not specify which types of bombs were dropped. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately elaborate on the operation. The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault, and for Mr Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. Trump told reporters on Friday that he was not interested in sending ground forces into Iran, saying it's 'the last thing you want to do.' He had previously indicated that he would make a final choice over the course of two weeks, a timeline that seemed drawn out as the situation was evolving quickly. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States on Wednesday that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will 'result in irreparable damage for them'. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared 'any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region'. Trump has vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and he had initially hoped that the threat of force would bring the country's leaders to give up its nuclear program peacefully. Israel 's military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, while Iran's foreign minister warned before the U.S. attack that American military involvement 'would be very, very dangerous for everyone.' The prospect of a wider war threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel's military campaign. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the US. The US ambassador to Israel announced the US had begun 'assisted departure flights,' the first from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Thursday's press briefing that Trump had said: 'I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.' Instead, the U.S. president struck just two days later. Trump appears to have made the calculation — at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republican lawmakers — that Israel's operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran's nuclear program, perhaps permanently. The Israelis say their offensive has already crippled Iran's air defences, allowing them to already significantly degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites. But to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, Israel appealed to Trump for US bunker-busting bomb, which uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The penetrator is currently only delivered by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is only found in the American arsenal. The bomb carries a conventional warhead, and is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. Previous Israeli strikes at another Iranian nuclear site, Natanz, on a centrifuge site have caused contamination only at the site itself, not the surrounding area, the IAEA has said. Mr Trump's decision for direct US military intervention comes after his administration made an unsuccessful two-month push — including with high-level, direct negotiations with the Iranians — aimed at persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear programme. For months, Mr Trump said he was dedicated to a diplomatic push to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. And he twice — in April and again in late May — persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on military action against Iran and give diplomacy more time. The US in recent days has been shifting military aircraft and warships into and around the Middle East to protect Israel and US bases from Iranian attacks. All the while, Mr Trump has gone from publicly expressing hope that the moment could be a 'second chance' for Iran to make a deal to delivering explicit threats on Mr Khamenei and making calls for Tehran's unconditional surrender. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding,' Mr Trump said in a social media posting. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.' The military showdown with Iran comes seven years after Mr Trump withdrew the US from the Obama-administration brokered agreement in 2018, calling it the 'worst deal ever'. The 2015 deal, signed by Iran, US and other world powers, created a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Mr Trump decried the Obama-era deal for giving Iran too much in return for too little, because the agreement did not cover Iran's non-nuclear malign behaviour. Mr Trump has bristled at criticism from some of his Maga faithful, including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who have suggested that further US involvement would be a betrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end US involvement in expensive and endless wars.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
US Embassy issues stark DEI warning letters to companies in Ireland
The US embassy in Dublin has sent warnings to companies it does business with to comply with Donald Trump's 'anti-DEI' agenda if they employ American citizens and have US owners.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
The Sunday Independent's View: Time is running out for the Government to get a grip on housing
For the Government, it offers an opportunity for reflection as it nears the halfway stage of its own first year. What has been achieved since coming into office again in January? The administration has been accused of seeming less like a new broom than a threadbare old brush; not so much sweeping clean as brushing the country's problems under a rug to be tidied up later. But defenders of the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael-led Coalition would no doubt argue it has been faced with a series of obstacles since the start of the year, most notably the still unresolved threat of tariffs from Donald Trump. There is also the worsening international situation, which last week saw Ireland join other countries in pulling embassy staff from Iran as the conflict with Israel continues. These, however, are matters with which all our partners are having to deal. It is no excuse for not dealing robustly with domestic matters. The legislation programme for the summer term of the Oireachtas lists a number of bills as a priority, including the Defence (Amendment) Bill which will remove the so-called triple-lock on Irish troops serving abroad, as well as measures tackling air pollution, cyber security and terrorism. All important matters, no question about it. The logjam in planning and services is well documented But none directly addresses the deepest issue confronting the country: that is, of course, the lack of supply, and crippling cost, of housing. Last week there was more bad news as the Central Bank revised downward its forecast for the number of houses that will be built between now and 2027 — also the midway point of the 34th Dáil, a date which the Government may find itself careening towards at an alarming pace. This year, it now expects 32,500 homes to be built, well short of what is needed to make a significant dent in the target of 300,000 by 2030. The logjam in planning and services is well documented. Historically, it has often felt as if Irish bureaucracy stymies rather than stimulates innovation. No wonder we lag far behind comparable EU states when it comes to infrastructure. The apparent lack of urgency to break through these roadblocks remains a bigger concern. The Government already seems to have retreated into explaining rather than doing, as if seeking to justify in advance the failure to meet its own target, which it has already accepted is inevitable. The appointment of the former HSE chief executive as chair of the newly revamped An Coimisiún Pleanála may make a difference. If anyone has experience of cutting through red tape, it is Paul Reid. Health is another area where much-needed change sadly comes a cropper. Ministers must act swiftly to hand him the power to green-light the infrastructure projects needed to house an estimated population of six million by 2040. No other achievements by this Government will be worth a penny candle if the crisis in housing does not ease dramatically. The summer recess is set to begin less than a month from now, on July 18. When TDs and senators return in September, all eyes will be on the presidential election and it will be the winter solstice before we know it. It is still not too late to get a grip on housing, but it soon might be if more time is wasted.
