Moscow is planning to retaliate after Ukraine’s surprise drone strike over the weekend, US President Donald Trump said after speaking to Russia’s leader Wednesday.
Vladimir Putin insisted “very strongly” that Moscow must respond to the attack on Russian airfields, Trump said, setting up a further escalation in the conflict even as the US pushes for a ceasefire.
Trump said his conversation with Putin was not one “that will lead to immediate peace”: He is growing frustrated with both Russia and Ukraine, The New York Times reported.
Trump’s policy toward the Kremlin is “at a dead end,” international relations scholar Edward Fishman wrote in Foreign Affairs, arguing the White House should work with Congress to pursue tough, targeted oil sanctions on Russia.