Trump says it may be better to let Ukraine and Russia ‘fight for a while’

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/...hen-it-sees-fit

Trump impressed with Zelensky

Trump admired Ukraine’s bold strike on Russian strategic air bases — but worries it could complicate his ceasefire mission

🗣️According to Axios, while Trump stayed silent publicly about the attack, sources say he privately praised the operation. “Pretty strong,” said one person close to him. “He thought it was gutsy,” added another.

📢“It’s like a chihuahua actually hurting a big dog,” said one of Trump’s advisers.

However, Trump is now concerned that Putin might launch a “very significant” retaliation, which could derail his diplomatic efforts.

🗣️“We want this war to end. We want de-escalation. And if Putin goes crazy in his response, then yes, the president is concerned,” said another source.

Still, despite these concerns, Trump was impressed by what the Ukrainians managed to pull off.

After Trump’s call with Putin on Wednesday, the US president said that his Russian counterpart had told him that Moscow would have to respond to Ukraine’s assaults. Trump’s account of the call gave no indication that he had urged Putin to temper his response, to the dismay of many in Ukraine.

“When Putin mentioned he is going to avenge or deliver a new strike against Ukraine, we know what it means. It’s about civilians,” Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko told CNN earlier this week. “And President Trump didn’t say, ‘Vladimir, stop.’”

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/06/05/europe/r...-latam-hnk-intl