Panetta: Putin ‘not quite sure what to do’ after Ukraine drones strike Moscow

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Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Tuesday said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not quite sure what to do” after a Ukrainian drone strike hit Moscow earlier in the day.

The drone strike hit Dubna Satellite Communications Centre, used by Russian officials to gather intelligence and coordinate military operations in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on the social platform X. This marked the second time Kyiv has struck the communications center, CNN reported.

Panetta, who led the Pentagon during former President Obama’s administration, told NewsNation’s Leland Vittert on “On Balance” that he does not “think there’s any question” that Putin is, as Vittert asked, “on the ropes.”

“I just think that it’s clear right now that Putin is cornered in this situation and is not quite sure what to do,” Panetta said. “He obviously ought to, frankly, negotiate some kind of ceasefire, but knowing Putin, he will continue to resist that, and Russia is going to pay the price.”

He later added that the “most important” assistance that the U.S. can provide Ukraine is “whatever it needs in terms of weaponry so Ukraine can present a bigger threat to Russia,” which will “send a message to Putin” and lead to Russia losing the four-year war.”

Panetta said it was critical that President Trump “stand up to a tyrant like Putin.”

“Putin’s not going to win under any circumstances,” Panetta continued. “It would be smart for the president to pick the side that is going to win this war, and that is Ukraine.”

Ukraine has stepped up its drone strikes into Russia’s territory. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military stated that it was “systematically destroying” Russian radars that monitor airspace toward Moscow, CNN reported.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov slammed Ukraine’s attacks, saying three civilians were injured and a six-month-old baby was killed in the attack.

“We would like once again to bring the international community’s attention to this criminal conduct of the Kyiv regime,” he said, the Russian state news agency TASS reported. “Civilians have been affected, and children have been dying as a result of actions by the Kyiv regime. And everybody should know and remember that.”

Putin on Sunday said on Russian state television that no deal was made with Trump during a summit in Alaska last August, despite Russian officials insisting for months that the meeting marked a diplomatic turning point for the war with Ukraine.

The Russian president also said Kyiv has offered “new proposals” to stop the fighting in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but he dismissed these as a distraction while Kyiv’s army replenishes its forces.

Peskov said in March that peace talks with the Trump administration to end the war in Ukraine were on a “situational pause,” as the U.S. was carrying out its military operations in Iran, a Russian ally.

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Dmitry Peskov

Donald Trump

Joe Biden

Leland Vittert

Leon Panetta

Obama

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

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