Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just humiliate President Donald Trump with the latest attack against Russia?
Ukraine launched a massive drone attack over the weekend that destroyed 40 Russian planes deep in Russia’s territory, an operation that Zelenskyy described as a “brilliant.” The attack comes months after Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, telling the Ukrainian leader that he does not “have the cards.”
MeidasTouch editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski, a frequent critic of Trump, suggested that the president and Vance were humiliated by Zelenskyy’s attack on Russia. He compared the costly U.S. operation to target the Houthi rebels and the loss of two U.S. fighter jets in the Red Sea to Ukraine’s successful attack.
“Trump bragged about spending $1B bombing Houthis while getting Reaper drones shot down and losing two fighter jets to the bottom of the Red Sea while accomplishing nothing and leaking it in Signal, while ‘you don’t have the cards’ Zelensky wipes out 40 bombers deep inside Russia,” Filipkowski wrote on social media platform X.
Ukraine’s attack against Russia was personally supervised by Zelenskyy, a source told The Associated Press.
Trump said the U.S. will stop targeting the Houthi rebel targets in May after vowing in March to use “overwhelming lethal force” against them. Since March, the U.S. attacks on the Houthis have cost more than $750 million and the Houthis have destroyed at least seven Reaper drones, according to The Associated Press.
The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier also lost two fighter jets over the Red Sea in two separate incidents, according to Military.com.
Zelenskyy said in his evening address on Sunday that the U.S. proposal for a ceasefire is still on the table, but called for more pressure to be placed on Russia. He called for sanctions on Russia despite Trump hesitating to impose more on the country.
“Since March 11, the U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire has been on the table. It was the Russians who chose to continue the war – even under conditions where the entire world is calling for an end to the killing,“ Zelenskyy said.
“And pressure is truly needed – pressure on Russia that should bring it back to reality. Pressure through sanctions. Pressure from our forces. Pressure through diplomacy. All of it must work together,“ he continued.
The relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine has grown tense since the heated meeting in the Oval Office in March. Trump accused Zelenskyy at the time of being “disrespectful” as Vance demanded that Zelenskyy offer his thanks to the president.
Trump has also been reluctant to criticize Russia, but in recent days has signaled he is not happy with how Russian leader Vladimir Putin is handling the war.
The drone attack came the same day as Zelenskyy said Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday.
In a statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy said that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation. “We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian officials had previously called on the Kremlin to provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the war before the meeting takes place. Moscow had said it would share its memorandum during the talks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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