Ukraine Deliberately Blindsided Trump Before Massive Drone Attack on Russia
President Donald Trump was deliberately left in the dark about Ukraine's unprecedented drone strike in Russia on Sunday, which destroyed nearly a third of the Kremlin's strategic bomber fleet in a surprise attack.
The large-scale drone attack saw a fleet of drones scattered all across Russia carry out simultaneous attacks on five airbases, wiping out 40 irreplaceable military bombers worth an estimated $7 billion, which have been used to reign terror upon Ukrainian civilians.
'Operation Spider-Web' took over 18 months to plan and was personally overseen by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a source told CBS News.
Drones were smuggled deep into Russia in wooden crates on the back of trucks, which were later opened remotely, allowing the drones to take off. Among the targets hit was the Belaya air base in Russia's far-east Irkutsk region, located more than 2,500 miles away from Ukraine.
During his evening address on Sunday, Zelensky said 117 drones had been deployed in the attack, and that Ukraine's base of operations in Russia had even been located next to a branch of the FSB, Russia's intelligence agency.
The White House however has declined to comment on the attack—with an administration source confirming to NewsNation on Sunday that Trump was not informed about the operation before it had taken place.
While no official reason has been given for the snub, it comes just months after the U.S. announced it would stop sharing military intelligence with Ukraine unless progress was made on peace talks. Trump's longtime fondness for Vladimir Putin and public dislike of Zelensky is also likely a key factor in Kyiv's reluctance to share information with the President.
Following the strike, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to reiterate Trump's call for peace between the two nations, Axios reported on Sunday. Both Russian and Ukrainian officials will meet in Istanbul on Monday to engage in peace talks.
'We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state, and our people,' Zelensky wrote in a post on X. 'I outlined the tasks for the near term and also defined our positions ahead of the meeting in Istanbul on Monday.'
The Ukrainian president said his priorities included 'a complete and unconditional ceasefire' and the return of abducted prisoners and children.
Operation Spider-Web follows a similarly huge drone strike from Russia on Sunday night, in which the Kremlin launched 472 drones and seven missiles at Ukrainian military bases and infrastructure—the biggest drone attack in the war to date. 12 military personnel were killed in the attack and 60 more injured.
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