VIDEO The White House reveals how Trump reacted after the latest wave of massive bombings over Ukraine
The spokeswoman for US President Donald Trump, Karoline Leavitt, speaks to media representatives outside the White House in Washington, on February 3, 2026. PHOTO: Pool/ABACA / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
Donald Trump was “not surprised” by Russia's latest series of massive bombings over Ukraine, the US president's spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, said on Tuesday, writes AFP.
“I discussed this with the president this morning, and unfortunately his reaction was that he's not surprised,” Leavitt said during a briefing with reporters at the White House.
Overnight, the Russian military launched the “strongest” drone and missile attack on Ukraine since the beginning of the year, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without heating in freezing temperatures.
“The two countries have been in a very violent war for several years that would never have started if the president had stayed in power,” Karoline Leavitt added, echoing the usual language of the Trump administration.
So far, the Republican administration has refused to blame Russia for the conflict, even though it was Moscow that invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Karoline Leavitt reiterated that Donald Trump's special envoy for sensitive diplomatic missions, Steve Witkoff, as well as the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, an informal but omnipresent mediator of the American leader, will be “tomorrow (Wednesday, no) in Abu Dhabi for another round of trilateral meetings” with the Russians and Ukrainians.
Zelensky's announcement
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday that the work of Kiev's negotiating team would be adjusted after the overnight Russian attack on energy facilities, in which they used a record number of ballistic missiles, Reuters previously reported.
“It was a deliberate attack against the energy infrastructure, which involved a record number of ballistic missiles,” Zelenskiy said.
“The Russian military exploited the US proposal to temporarily stop attacks not to support diplomacy, but to stockpile missiles and wait until the coldest days of the year, when temperatures in most parts of Ukraine drop below -20 °C,” the Kiev leader charged.
Zelenskiy says he's changing sides with Russians ahead of new round of talks, shortly after Trump evokes 'good news' about ending war
According to the Ukrainian media, minus 24 degrees were recorded in the capital Kiev on Tuesday morning.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russians launched a massive overnight attack with more than 70 ballistic missiles and 450 drones, including 350 Shahed, according to The Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian air defense intercepted 38 missiles and 412 drones. At least 27 missiles and 31 drones managed to get past the country's defenses, hitting 27 locations. Projectile debris fell in 17 locations.
The next round of peace talks with Russian and American officials is set to begin on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The Russian delegation to the trilateral talks will again be led by Admiral Igor Kostiukov, the head of military intelligence, the Kremlin confirmed on Tuesday.
