US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "not looking to attack Nato territory," despite a suspected Russian drone attack on a German airport that has sparked outrage across Europe.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said: "I speak to him. I know him very well. Putin's not looking to attack Nato territory."
Investigators have found drones packed with explosives in Germany, including one discovered alongside a Ukrainian jet and another at a Nato logistics hub. European security officials believe the incidents form part of a Russian hybrid warfare campaign against countries that have supported Ukraine since Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022.
US intelligence is understood to believe Russian secret services were likely behind the August attack, having reportedly matched DNA found on the drone with a suspected Russian sabotage attempt at the same airport two years earlier. Trump's refusal to condemn the Kremlin on Friday is likely to fuel new concerns over Washington's commitment to Nato.
Leipzig airport drone incidents
Germany has repeatedly reported suspicious drone sightings over military and industrial sites. At the beginning of August, police defused a drone carrying explosives near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle Airport. Another drone was reportedly found weeks later near the same airport, also carrying traces of an explosive substance.
The airport in eastern Germany plays a key role in transporting military goods, including for the German military and Nato allies, and also serves as a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines. Moscow has denied involvement.
Germany said the attempted strike formed part of a wider campaign of "Russian hybrid operations," while Brussels said the incident bore "all the hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism." European governments have repeatedly accused the Kremlin of orchestrating sabotage plots aimed at undermining support for Ukraine and sowing instability across the continent.
This week, Britain summoned a senior Russian diplomat over what it called last month's "egregious and reckless" attack at Leipzig airport. Prime Minister Andy Burnham and other Western leaders rallied behind Germany, with Burnham expressing the UK's "full solidarity" with Berlin and saying Russian attempts to weaken support for Ukraine were "futile and doomed to fail."
Warnings have also mounted over Russian spy ships allegedly targeting Britain's critical undersea infrastructure, while a former Russian foreign minister recently suggested UK drone factories could be hit by "unknown sources."
Kushner and Witkoff head to Moscow and Kyiv
Trump's remarks came as he sent his son-in-law Jared Kushner and businessman Steve Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv with a plan to end the four-year-old war. It will be their first visit to Kyiv since Trump returned to office last year vowing to solve the conflict. The trip follows a surprise visit to Moscow last month by CIA director John Ratcliffe, who reportedly warned the Kremlin not to escalate the conflict. Both envoys have previously visited Moscow, leading to accusations that they have taken Russia's side in negotiations.
"They're bringing with them a proposal to end the war," Trump said when asked about the trip on Friday. He would not say whether the plan involved Ukraine ceding territory, as he has previously suggested, but added: "We have an idea for peace."
"I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They've done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we'll do it," Trump said.
Trump blamed the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, on a "personality problem" between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky calls for a ceasefire
Zelensky said he had proposed observing a ceasefire with Russia while the US envoys visit Moscow and Kyiv. "There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire, without its own airstrikes, for the duration needed to conduct these talks," Zelensky said in his evening address.
A senior Ukrainian official said the two envoys would visit Kyiv on Sunday. The Kremlin declined to comment on the matter. The US news outlet Axios reported that Kushner and Witkoff would travel on Friday, meet Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday, and then meet Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday. The two men have also been involved in ceasefire negotiations over Gaza and Iran.
The last known phone call between Trump and Putin took place in July, and the two men last met in person a year ago at a summit in Alaska that failed to produce a breakthrough on Ukraine.
Trump's shifting stance on Nato support
Trump has long been skeptical about maintaining support for Ukraine and had a televised row with Zelensky in the Oval Office in February 2025. With Putin, he has veered between friendliness and frustration.
Trump said on Thursday that he would ask Europeans to repay the American aid provided to Ukraine under the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden. He has long demanded that Europeans shoulder more of the cost of Western support for Ukraine.
This follows Trump saying in July that it is "ridiculous" for America to continue its current level of support for Nato. In a post on Truth Social, he said the United States' place in the Western alliance was "one sided" and "not reciprocal." He shared a graph of Nato defence spending with the caption: "Ridiculous for the U.S.A. to continue along this one sided path when the relationship is not reciprocal. They were not there for us!!! President DJT."
