Trump administration left clueless about Ukraine's attack on Russia

Ukrainian officials say the attack took more than a year to plan, but the Trump administration was kept in the dark

By Cheyenne McNeill

National Affairs Fellow

Published June 2, 2025 6:18PM (EDT)

President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Oval Office, Feb. 28, 2025. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Oval Office, Feb. 28, 2025. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump was completely in the dark about a Ukrainian operation that sent attack drones deep into Russia on Sunday, per several reports.

Ukraine's attack involved more than 100 drones and reportedly destroyed dozens of Russian military aircraft. In posts to X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack took over a year and a half to plan and called the operation "brilliant."

"Today, a brilliant operation was carried out — on enemy territory, targeting only military objectives, specifically the equipment used to strike Ukraine," he shared on X. "Russia suffered significant losses — entirely justified and deserved." 

The assault comes after weeks of Russian bombing campaigns on Ukrainian cities. U.S. and Ukrainian officials confirmed that the Trump administration was not made aware of the attack in advance, per a report from Axios. The White House has been working to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine for many months, with Trump souring on Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin at times.

Russian and Ukrainian officials met today for their second set of direct peace talks, but left with no significant breakthroughs. The talks lasted just over an hour, CNN reported. Both sides agreed to work on a new prisoner exchange, but the nations made no progress toward a ceasefire.


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