President Donald Trump admitted he had ‘no idea’ what led Vladimir Putin to escalate the war with Ukraine in a scathing takedown of the Russian leader.
Trump was asked to provide an update on the war in Ukraine on Sunday as he departed his Bedminster golf club to return to Washington.
‘Yeah, I’ll give you an update. I’m not happy with what Putin’s doing,’ Trump said on the tarmac of Morristown Airport. ‘He’s killing a lot of people.’
Trump then revealed his fear that the Russian leader suddenly had a dangerous change of heart.
‘I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin. I’ve known him a long time. Always gotten along with him. But he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people.
‘We’re in the middle of talking and he’s shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities. I don’t like it at all… I don’t know what’s wrong with him.’
Trump said he was ‘absolutely’ now considering more sanctions on Russia due to Putin’s behavior.
The president had spoken with Putin on the phone for two hours on Monday – but ultimately those conversations did not lead to a ceasefire.
Instead, Russia continued to attack Ukraine through the weekend, launching the single largest aerial attack of the war so far in a direct insult to Trump’s efforts at mediation.
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters on the tarmac Sunday evening at the Morristown, New Jersey airport as he departed his Bedminster golf club for Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump appeared irritated by the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who continued bombing Ukraine amid ongoing peace talks
A total of at least 12 people were killed, including three children, and 57 injured in the attacks by Russia, among the strongest of the entire war
At least 12 were reported dead and 57 injured.
Among the dead were at least three children in the northern region of Zhytomyr, local officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had called on the United States and Trump to condemn the attack.
‘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.’
Trump had been largely silent on the war while he spent parts of Saturday and Sunday at his New Jersey golf club.
Saturday morning he visited the United States Military Academy at West Point to deliver a commencement address.
But on his way home, the president was also asked about a claim made by a Russian commander that Putin’s helicopter almost got caught in the middle of a Ukrainian drone attack.
Trump said he was ‘absolutely’ now considering more sanctions on Russia due to Putin’s behavior
President Donald Trump tore into Russian President Vladimir Putin when asked Sunday evening by a reporter for an update on the Ukraine war
The U.S. president had spoken on the phone for two hours with Putin on Monday – but those conversations did not lead to a ceasefire
‘I haven’t heard that,’ Trump replied, speculating that ‘maybe that would be a reason’ for the deadly attack.
‘I don’t know, but I have not heard that,’ the president added.
The latest attack marks the second large-scale assault on Ukraine in two nights, and the third in a week.
Ukraine’s air force said Sunday that Russia had launched 69 ballistic and cruise missiles, along with 298 attack drones, with about two-thirds of the missiles and drones shot down.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said: ‘This was a combined, ruthless strike aimed at civilians. The enemy once again showed that its goal is fear and death.’
Pictured: Fiery red plumes of smoke descend on entire towns
In Khmelnytskyi region, at least four people were killed and five injured in Putin’s overnight strikes
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, private houses are seen ruined after a Russian drones attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine
U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said on Sunday the attack was ‘a clear violation’ of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols and called for an immediate ceasefire.
The latest carnage adds to growing evidence that far from taking steps towards peace – as Trump has demanded – Putin is engaged in ever stronger attacks on Ukraine likely as a prelude to a major summer offensive seeking to grab new territory in on Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipro regions beginning next month.
Up to 50,000 Russian troops are being prepared for an advance, according to reports.