President Donald Trump delivered a rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, saying he was “not happy” about Moscow’s deadly missile strikes across Ukraine that left several dead, including three children, and others wounded. Despite Trump talking up Ukraine and Russia being on the cusp of a peace deal, his latest comments mark a clear condemnation of Putin’s aggression and one that suggests Russia is not ready to end the war.
While speaking to reporters at Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey, Trump accused Putin of "killing a lot of people" in the attack, which was launched on Sunday afternoon.
“I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin,” Trump said, adding that he is not pleased with what the Russian President is doing.
“I've known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he's sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don't like it at all,” the president added.
On Sunday, Russia launched drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities that resulted in 12 people dead and more critically injured. As a result, Trump suggested he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
Ukraine reported that Russia just launched the largest aerial assault of the war to date, firing a total of 367 weapons — 298 drones and 69 missiles — in a single barrage. In the wake of the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the international community to step up its support in helping Ukraine defend against continued Russian aggression. He said that their silence “only encourages" him.
“The silence of America, the silence of others in the world only encourages Putin," he wrote on Telegram. "Every such terrorist Russian strike is reason enough for new sanctions against Russia.”
Zelensky stated that Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire agreement but accused Russia of not taking the negotiations seriously.
Keith Kellogg, serving as Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, shared an image of Kyiv engulfed in flames on X, condemning the strikes as a blatant breach of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols.
“This is Kyiv. The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes is a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents,” he said. “These attacks are shameful. Stop the killing. Ceasefire now.”
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