'Gave Putin a reason to bomb the hell out of them': Trump defends Russia's 'BIGGEST ATTACK' on Ukraine

After Russia launched the "most powerful attack" on Ukraine's Kharkiv, US President Donald Trump appeared to justify the Kremlin's large-scale attack on Ukrainian cities, in retaliation to Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb.

The US president said that they had the Russian president a reason to go in and bomb.

“They gave (Russian President Vladimir) Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

"That's the thing I don't like about it. When I saw it I said 'here we go now it's going to be a strike,' Trump added.

Russia launched more than 400 drones and 40 missiles across Ukrainian cities, killing six people and injuring more than 80.

"Today, rescue and emergency operations continued all day across various regions and cities of our country. Over 400 drones and more than 40 missiles were launched by the Russians. 80 people were injured, and some may still be under the debris," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday in a post on X.

However, according to a BBC report, Ukrainians pointed out that it is absurd to talk of retaliation when Russia has been bombing Ukrainian cities for more than three years.

The night before Ukraine launched Operation Spiderweb, Russia launched 472 drones over Ukraine in one of the largest aerial assaults of the war so far.

"Unfortunately, not everyone in the world condemns such attacks. This is exactly what Putin exploits. He is buying himself time to keep waging war," the Ukrainian president stated on Saturday.

The Ukrainian State Emergency Service confirmed the deaths of three firefighters in Kyiv, including three civilians.

Zelensky said that the Russians constantly try to drive wedges into the unity of the world in order to prevent stronger pressure for their war.