[By Guancha Observer Network, Liu Chenghui]

The "Spider Web Operation" carried out by Ukraine against Russian airbases shocked the world. US President Trump did not comment immediately after the incident, and later emphasized to Russian President Putin during their phone call that the US was unaware of the attack beforehand.

However, on June 5, Axios News Network reported, citing sources, that Trump privately praised Ukraine's drone strike as "tough and hard," but he also expressed concern that this attack would make the US' cease-fire mediation efforts more difficult.

The report stated that this operation targeted Russia's most strategically significant airbase and was meticulously planned, executed remotely from thousands of miles away, indicating that Ukraine had more "cards" than Trump anticipated, which could also provoke a retaliatory escalation by Russia.

One reason for the White House's concern over Ukraine's attack was its targeting of long-range bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons, which are key components of Russia's nuclear deterrence force.

"This is a very dangerous moment," said an American official.

The drone strike footage released by Ukraine shows a burning Tu-95 bomber under attack.

In public, Trump surprisingly remained silent about the attack. However, according to sources, Trump privately expressed his appreciation for the strike.

"That's pretty strong," a close friend of Trump recounted his words to the Axios website.

Another source described Trump's reaction: "He found it quite badass."

A Trump advisor remarked: "From an international perspective, this is like a Chihuahua causing substantial damage to a much larger dog."

While expressing admiration for Ukraine's attack, Trump told those he had met recently in the past few days that this drone strike might prompt Russia to retaliate with great force.

This source said that Trump was concerned that this situation would hinder his diplomatic mediation plans.

"We want this conflict to end and tensions to ease. So if Putin retaliates furiously because of this, the president will indeed be worried," another source who spoke with Trump said.

"The drone attack did not surprise him, because such incidents happen when the war continues, but he worries that this will prolong the fighting. He wants the fighting to stop, so every time such an attack occurs, he feels disappointed," a senior White House official said.

Despite recent rounds of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, no breakthrough has been achieved. On April 4, Zelensky said on X platform that Russia "feels it can do whatever it wants," and every new attack launched by Russia amounts to a "middle finger" to those hesitating whether to increase pressure on Russia.

The report suggested that Zelensky's remarks were subtly directed at Trump.

On June 1 local time, Ukrainian drones attacked military airports in Murmansk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblast, Ivanovo Oblast, Ryazan Oblast, and Amur Oblast in Russia.

Ukraine claimed to have damaged more than 40 Russian aircraft, but commercial satellite images using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) showed that four Tu-95 bombers and four Tu-22M3 bombers were hit and damaged at the Irkutsk Bereya base, while four Tu-95 bombers and one transport aircraft were damaged at the Murmansk Olenya base. The total loss for the Russian military amounted to 13 large aircraft, including eight Tu-95 bombers.

An American official assessed that the number of Russian aircraft hit by Ukraine was only half of what Zelensky claimed.

After the attack, the leaders of the US and Russia held a telephone conversation on April 4. Russian presidential aide Ushakov said that both leaders agreed during their call to continue contacts regarding the Ukraine issue.

Trump disclosed on social media that they discussed Ukraine's attacks on Russian airports and other recent incidents. Putin "firmly" stated that Russia would respond to the airport attacks. He said that the US was unaware of Ukraine's plans to strike Russian bases beforehand.

On the same day, Putin, after listening to a report from Russian negotiation delegation leader Mezentsev, said that Russia would not accept Ukraine's proposed 30-day or 60-day ceasefire. He believed this would give Ukraine a chance to catch its breath and regroup.

Pu tin described that for the Ukrainian government, peace likely means losing power, and for this regime, "power is obviously more important than peace, even more important than the lives of their people."

This article is an exclusive contribution by the Guancha Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7512479319130669609/

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