White House Not Notified Before Ukraine Drone Attack on Russian Bombers, Leavitt Confirms 

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump did not receive advance notification before Ukraine launched a drone swarm attack against Russian airfields, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a press briefing on June 3.

She noted “he was not” notified and acknowledged that the incident raised concerns about domestic national security, given the stealthy nature of the operation that penetrated nearly 3,000 miles into Russian Arctic and Siberian territory.

“The president has a full understanding … about the future of warfare and how drones are a big part of that,” Leavitt said.

In addition to the newly announced Golden Dome missile defense shield, change is on the horizon to help strengthen U.S. drone defense capabilities, according to the press secretary.

“I will not get ahead of our policy team, but I think you can expect to see some executive action on that front in the very near future,” Leavitt said.

Officials with the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that four airbases were damaged by the sophisticated drone strike that targeted the country’s military aircraft.

More than 300 drones were intercepted, according to Russia’s defense ministry, but officials have yet to clarify the extent of the destruction.

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) confirmed the strikes, nicknamed “Operation Spiderweb,” in a post on X and claimed responsibility for destroying as much as 34 percent of Russia’s cruise missile carriers.

According to SBU Chief Vasyl Malyuk, drones were smuggled into Russia and launched from within the region.

The complex operation damaged or destroyed a significant portion of Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet and caused an estimated $7 billion in damage, he said.

Russia responded the same day with a counterattack, sending drones into Ukraine, resulting in the death of at least 12 Ukrainians, according to government reports.

With tensions flaring, questions persist about ongoing peace negotiations, but Trump is optimistic that a solution is achievable, according to Leavitt.

“He remains positive about the progress that we’re seeing, but he also is a realist and he realizes these are two countries that are at war and have been for a long time because of his predecessor’s weakness and incompetence, so he’s working hard to solve this conflict and that’s where his mind is right now on it,” she said.

“The president does not want to see this war prolonged. He wants the fighting to stop. He wants people to stop dying, and he wants this to be solved at the negotiating table.

“The reason he is so deeply involved and has spent so much time and effort on this war is because he hates to see people dying.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Istanbul on Monday that he will continue sending drones into Russia “until the offensive stops.”

The motive for Ukraine’s decision not to inform the United States in advance remains unclear, with some analysts suggesting the move was to demonstrate independence, while others said the choice was a matter of operational secrecy and security.

“By launching this attack, Ukraine has shown that actions speak louder than words,” Ivana Stradner, research fellow at the non-partisan national security and foreign policy institution The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a statement posted June 2 on X.

“Russia is domestically downplaying the impact of this attack—a sign that Putin fears backlash from ordinary Russian people.”