Zelenskiy announces military shakeup, commander who resigned given new assignment
June 3 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced a shakeup in Ukraine's military on Tuesday, including the appointment to a new post of a commander who tendered his resignation over a deadly Russian attack.
Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, who offered to quit as commander of Ukraine's land forces over an attack on a training area, would now serve as the new commander of joint forces.
Zelenskiy said another commander, whom he did not identify, would take charge of land forces.
He said the appointment had also been approved of Oleh Apostol as commander of paratroops and Robert Brovdi as commander of unmanned systems.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Trump secretly admired Ukraine's ‘badass' drone attack - but worries it'll make Russia ceasefire harder: report
President Donald Trump once accused Ukraine 's Volodymyr Zelensky of lacking 'cards' to play in his country's years-long fight against Russia, but now he's paying far more attention to what might be in Zelensky's hands. In the wake of Ukraine's brazen, and successful, attack on multiple Russian air bases over the weekend, Trump was reportedly left marveling at the ingenuity and sheer chutzpah of Kyiv 's counteroffensive using dozens of armed drones launched from trucks traveling deep inside Russia, swarming over military airfields across the country and raining down onto nuclear-capable long-range bombers. According to Axios, Trump has privately described it as 'strong' and 'badass.' One of the president's advisers likened the audacious move to 'a chihuahua inflicting some real damage on a much bigger dog." Dubbed Operation Spiderweb, by Ukrainian authorities, was carried out by the SBU, the secret service of Ukraine, and destroyed more than 40 such planes, a significant portion of Moscow 's strategic bombing capability. Ukraine has claimed the attack — a homegrown operation in which drones were concealed in false compartments within lorry roofs, smuggled into Russia, then launched en masse simultaneously many thousands of miles apart – and many thousands of miles behind enemy lines — destroyed 41 Russian aircraft, causing $7 billion worth of damage to long-range bombers that carried the cruise missiles Putin has been using against Ukraine. The president's laudatory characterization of the Ukrainian attack on the Russian bombers tracks previous reporting by The Independent on Trump's uncharacteristic silence in the days between the drone strikes and his call with Putin. People close to him have suggested that worldview, forged in the days of Cold War-era nuclear tensions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., has long led Trump to Russia as a strong country and Putin as a strong leader — a 'winner,' in his own parlance. But the success of last weekend's Ukrainian attacks may have — for now — positively influenced his opinion of Zelensky. Put simply, it's because Ukraine's success makes Moscow look less like a winner and more like the thing Trump hates above all else: a loser. Still, Trump remains concerned about the long-term prospects for his push to get Kyiv and Moscow to hammer out a ceasefire agreement, something he promised to accomplish on 'day one' of his presidency during last year's campaign. One source who spoke directly with the president told Axios that he 'has concerns' about the chance that Putin will 'go crazy in response.' And a U.S. official said the disabling of part of Moscow's nuclear-capable bomber fleet has pushed things to 'a very dangerous point' and has Trump worried that such attacks will 'prolong the fighting.' 'He wants the fighting to stop, so it disappoints him whenever there is an attack like that," they said.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Trump hailed Ukraine ‘Op Spiderweb' drone strikes as ‘badass' – but he fears Putin will ‘go crazy' after crunch call
DONALD Trump has hailed Ukraine's daring "Operation Spiderweb" attack as "strong and badass". The US president heaped praise on Volodymyr Zelensky for his calculated drone assault plan - but warned it has only made a raging Vladimir Putin even crazier. 8 8 8 8 The Kremlin dictator held a 75 minute phone call with Trump on Wednesday as they discussed rising tensions in Ukraine. Top of the agenda was reportedly the 117 drone blitz over the weekend which left four of Russia's key airbases up in flames. The daring Operation Spiderweb saw a fired up Ukraine wreck 41 Russian planes across the strategic airfields. Putin's doomsday bomber fleet was crippled with a third of his most prized aircraft lying in smouldering wrecks. Ukraine said the sneak attack was worth $7bn (£5.2bn) in damage to Russia. Trump is believed to have been impressed by the cunning plot which took over 18 months to pull off under Zelensky's watchful eye. One source revealed to Axios that Trump told him the assault was "pretty strong". Another said the president "thought it was badass". A third anonymous confidant close to the Trump administration also praised the attack. They said: "From an international perspective, you've got a chihuahua inflicting some real damage on a much bigger dog." Clearest vid yet of daring Op Spiderweb shows 35 Ukrainian bomb drones blowing up plane after multimillion dollar plane Despite receiving the impressive plaudits from their American allies, Trump also made it clear it will have only increased Putin's rage. Trump reportedly told one source: "We want this war to end. We want it to de-escalate. "So if Putin goes crazy in response, yeah, the president has concerns." A senior White House official has also spoken out since and said Trump won't be too happy about another escalation in the war. "He wants the fighting to stop, so it disappoints him whenever there is an attack like that," they said. Trump has spent the past few months since he returned to office trying to balance his relationship with both Moscow and Kyiv. In his latest attempt to draw both sides closer to a ceasefire he spoke with Putin over the phone. Trump revealed that the despot made it clear he feels he 'will have to respond' to the audacious drone assault. Inside Operation Spiderweb By Foreign News Reporter, James Halpin UKRAINE'S shock sleeper drone blitz on Russia's bomber fleet has delivered a hammer blow to Vladimir Putin's nuclear arsenal. The SAS-style strike against four airfields deep inside Russia is reminiscent of the most daring raids of the WW2 that turned the tide against the Nazis. Volodymyr Zelensky oversaw Operation Spiderweb - much like Winston Churchill did as Britain struck deep behind enemy lines. Putin's doomsday bomber fleet is now crippled with 41, or a third, of his most prized aircraft lying in smouldering wrecks on tarmac. Ukraine said the sneak attack was worth $7bn (£5.2bn) in damage to Russia - caused by only 117 cheaply made drones. Ukraine's spies spent 18 months putting the plan into action and struck on the eve of fresh peace talks in Istanbul. The drones and the containers were smuggled into Russia separately and were pieced together right under Vlad's nose. Clueless lorry drivers then parked the containers next to Russian airbases - where they sat and waited in plain sight. Then, on the morning of June 1, the fleet of flying bombs rose over the far reaches of Russia - and the most daring military operation of the war began. Nondescript shipping containers parked in laybys and verges had attracted little attention - before their lids blew open and the drone swarms poured out. The craft buzzed as they took off into the air and only had to travel a short distance to their valuable targets. Each of the 117 drones had their own dedicated pilot and Russia had little defences to protect their bases and stop them. Drones with cameras sent video back to HQ in Ukraine of the moment craft struck their targets and explosions ripped into the sky. Thick black smoke climbed high, with civilians near the bases sending video of Ukraine's successes around the world. The furthest strike was Belaya Air Base - so far inside Russia that the closest neighbouring country is Mongolia. Olenya Air Base near Finland and Ivanovo and Dyagilevo near Moscow were also struck in the country's west. It comes as The Sun laid out the six possible methods Putin may use to respond to the enemy. The tyrant could retaliate with one of his terrifying tactical nukes, launch a deadly 7,600mph missile or even order a renewed 50,000 troop assault to overpower his enemies. The Kremlin gave a chilling response earlier today regarding how they may respond. A spokesperson said: "Russian Federation will respond to the attack on airfields when and in the way that the military deems appropriate." And overnight, Vlad already launched his first retaliatory strikes on several residential regions. The worst saw a baby, their mum and grandma all killed due to a Shahed kamikaze drone blast which caused their home to collapse. Two others were also found dead in Chernihiv with another 17 seriously wounded in Kharkiv. 8 8 8 8
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Russia warns it will respond to Ukraine drone attacks ‘how and when' it sees fit
Russia will respond to Ukraine's daring drone operation 'how and when' it sees fit, the Kremlin has warned, seeming to confirm reports Vladimir Putin had told Donald Trump that Moscow was obliged to retaliate. Ukraine has been bracing for retaliation after its SBU security service carried out a surprise drone strike over the weekend, targeting four airbases and damaging up to 20 Russian warplanes deep inside the country, according to US officials. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, asked on Thursday what Moscow's response would be, said: 'How and when our military deems it appropriate.' Trump said Putin had 'strongly' told him that Russia would respond to the recent attacks on its airfields, during an unannounced phone call on Wednesday. The US embassy in Ukraine warned of a continuing risk of 'significant airstrikes' and advised its citizens to exercise caution. Hours after Trump and Putin spoke, Russia launched a series of overnight missiles and drones across Ukraine. At least five people, including a one-year-old boy, his mother and grandmother, were killed when a drone struck a residential building in the northern Ukrainian city of Pryluky. The child was the grandson of an emergency responder, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said. 'One of the rescuers arrived to respond to the aftermath right at his own home,' Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. 'It turned out that a Shahed drone hit his house.' In the southern city of Kherson, a large hole was seen in an administration building after missile attacks by the Russian army. But Russian officials have suggested that Moscow has yet to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone attack, which came a day before two bridges collapsed, killing seven people – attacks Moscow blamed on Ukrainian sabotage. After Ukraine carried out its unorthodox operation using drones smuggled into Russia on trucks, pro-Kremlin war bloggers and prominent commentators posted on Russian media to demand retribution, with some calling for nuclear retaliation. While Russian officials have previously indicated their willingness to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, analysts consider the deployment of such weapons on the battlefield highly unlikely at this stage of the war. Russia's nuclear doctrine permits the use of nuclear weapons in response to attacks that pose a 'critical threat' to the country's sovereignty. In a podcast for the independent outlet Meduza, Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based expert on Russian nuclear forces, rejected suggestions that Ukraine's recent drone strikes could justify such a response. He argued the operation did not threaten Russia's sovereignty or territorial integrity, nor did it undermine the retaliatory capacity of its strategic nuclear arsenal. A nuclear strike would also be strongly condemned by China, Russia's most influential ally, with Xi Jinping previously warning Putin against the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Instead, as in past responses to Ukrainian military successes, Moscow may launch a wave of deadly ballistic missile strikes – or deploy its experimental Oreshnik missile, which was used at least once last year. Ukraine has intensified its sabotage operations over the past week, including detonating underwater explosives beneath a key bridge linking Russia to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. On Wednesday, a visibly angry Putin for the first time reacted to the Ukrainian attacks, accusing Kyiv of 'organising terrorist attacks'. 'How can we have meetings like this under these conditions? What is there to talk about? Who has negotiations with … terrorists?' he said. Trump has not publicly commented on the Ukrainian drone operation, but sources who reportedly discussed it with him told Axios he described the attack as 'strong' and 'badass' and saw it as a setback to his diplomatic initiative to end the war. While the drone strikes dealt a tangible blow to Russia's military capacity and offered a morale boost for Kyiv, the broader picture remains less rosy for Ukraine. More than three years after launching its invasion, Russia is largely on the offensive, making steady battlefield gains in eastern Ukraine and continuing to pound Ukrainian cities and civilians with drones and missiles. Putin's forces have been advancing further into Ukraine's northern region of Sumy, threatening the regional capital after taking more than 150 square km of the area in less than two weeks. With Putin showing no willingness to agree to a lasting ceasefire, Ukrainian officials and the military are preparing for a Russian summer offensive, with Moscow intent on advancing into Ukraine's Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
