Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia will retaliate against Ukraine for a drone strike last weekend that targeted airfields housing nuclear-capable aircraft. The attack, which Ukraine claims damaged over 40 Russian planes including Tu-95 and Tu-22M heavy bombers, has prompted Kremlin advisers and figures close to Donald Trump to raise the spectre of nuclear confrontation, urging the US president to further reduce support for Ukraine.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund and a key intermediary between the Kremlin and Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, described the strike as an attack on 'Russian nuclear assets'. Echoing remarks from pro-Trump figures, he warned of rising risks of a third world war, writing: 'Clear communication is urgent – to grasp reality and the rising risks before it’s too late.'
Trump, after a phone call with Putin on Wednesday, stated that the Russian president 'did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.' The planes targeted are part of Russia's nuclear triad, which also includes submarine and silo-based missiles, forming the basis of deterrence between Russia and the United States.
Maga influencers such as Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk have condemned the drone strike, with Bannon likening it to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and Kirk warning that the world is 'closer to nuclear war than we’ve been since this began in 2022.' More centrist advisers in Trump's camp, including envoy Keith Kellogg, also acknowledge growing risks. Kellogg told Fox News: 'When you attack an opponent’s part of their [nuclear] triad, your risk level goes up.'
Dan Caldwell, a former senior aide at the Pentagon, argued that it is not in America's interest for Ukraine to attack Russia's strategic nuclear forces on the eve of peace talks, warning of potential escalation and direct confrontation between Russia and Nato. Ukrainian officials have countered that Russia is embellishing nuclear threats to blackmail the US into reducing support.
