‘The Atlantic’: Anger in Washington

Trump to Zelensky: Shut up and listen!
Photo: AP

Ukraine’s drone strikes deep into Russia delivered a humiliating blow to Moscow last weekend. Kyiv’s defenders celebrated the attack as a triumph of modern warfare and a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the extraordinary operation got a different response inside the White House: anger, ‘The Atlantic’ stresses.

Donald Trump has privately expressed frustration that the strike could escalate the conflict, according to three administration officials and an outside adviser to the White House. (They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.)

These sources told me that the drone strike has reignited the president’s long-held displeasure with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and prompted a new debate in the White House about whether the United States should abandon Ukraine. Throughout the war, Trump has deemed Zelensky a “bad guy” and a “hothead,” the outside adviser said — someone who could be pushing the globe toward World War III. Trump privately echoed a right-wing talking point this week by criticizing Zelensky for supposedly showboating after the drone attacks; according to the adviser, Trump was impressed with the audacity of the strikes but believes that Zelensky’s focus should have been on Ukraine-Russia negotiations in Istanbul.

Trump spoke with Putin, and, in a readout of the call on Truth Social, the U.S. president relayed the Kremlin’s plans to strike back against Ukraine. “We discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides,” Trump wrote. “It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace. President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”

Trump did not say whether he had warned Putin against retaliating, and two of the administration officials told me that he has not decided on his next steps. Officials have presented him with options that include sanctioning Russia and reducing American aid to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Trump told aides this week that he does not believe a summit with him, Zelensky, and Putin—which he once hoped would be a way to bring the war to a close — will happen any time soon, one of the administration officials told.

The White House has said that the U.S. was not told in advance about the surprise attack, which was carried out by drones hidden across five of Russia’s time zones that hit nuclear-capable bombers and inflicted billions of dollars in damage, according to a preliminary estimate from the White House.

Steve Bannon and other influential MAGA voices have berated Ukraine for the attack and are attempting to push Washington further from Kyiv. On his podcast this week, Bannon blamed Ukraine for, in his view, sabotaging peace talks while potentially provoking a massive response from Russia. “Zelensky didn’t give the president of the United States a heads-up to say he’s going to do a deep strike into strategic forces of Russia, which is going up the escalatory ladder as quickly as you can, on the day before your meeting in Turkey?” Bannon said. “On the eve of peace talks or cease-fire talks, he takes the Japanese role in Pearl Harbor — the sneak attack.” Bannon has conveyed similar messages to senior West Wing advisers, a fourth administration official told me.

Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, warned on Fox News that “the risk levels are going way up” because the drones struck part of Russia’s “national survival system” — its nuclear program — potentially pushing Moscow to retaliate in significant ways.

Trump has not increased aid to Ukraine since taking office again in January, and he has yet to endorse a bipartisan Senate push, led by his ally Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, to impose harsh economic penalties against Russia and countries that do business with it.

There have been other recent signs that the White House is distancing itself from Ukraine too.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not attend a meeting of 50 defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels. In the past, the meeting has been an important venue for coordinating military aid for Ukraine. Hegseth was the first U.S. defense secretary to skip the event in three years. The Pentagon cited scheduling issues for his absence.

In public remarks about the strikes, Putin downplayed the chances of a cease-fire, asking, “Who has negotiations with terrorists?”

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