1 of 2 | United States President Donald Trump on Sunday criticized President Vladimir Putin over his recent attacks on Ukraine. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump has criticized President Vladimir Putin of Russia after the Kremlin launched hundreds of missiles and drones at its neighbor over the weekend.
Trump told reporters in New Jersey before boarding Air Force One that he was “not happy” with Putin over the recent attacks.
“He’s killing a lot of people, and 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, and I don’t like it at all,” Trump said.
At least a dozen people were killed in Ukraine, officials said, after Russia launched 367 rockets and drones at Ukrainian cities on Saturday, marking one of the largest such attacks amid the three-year-old war.
Trump, who campaigned on being able to end the war in 24 hours, has been seeking a speedy resolution to the fighting since returning to the White House in January. Last week, he said he had spoken with both Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and that they were ready to “immediately start negotiations” toward securing a cease-fire to end the war.
“We’re in the middle of talking, and he’s shooting rockets into Kyiv. I don’t like it at all,” Trump said. “I don’t like what Putin is doing. Not even a little bit. He’s killing people, and something happened to this guy, and I don’t like it.”
The comments against Putin are among the strongest Trump has made about a leader he has long publicly praised.
They also come as Zelensky criticized Trump and the United States following the attack over the weekend — a long weekend in the United States with Monday being Memorial Day holiday.
“The world may go on a weekend break, but the war continues, regardless of weekends and weekdays,” Zelensky said in a statement. “This cannot be ignored. Silence of America, silence of others around the world only encourage Putin.”
In a statement published to his Truth Social platform Sunday night, Trump continued his condemnation of the Russian leader, saying “he has gone absolutely CRAZY!”
“I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”
He also responded to Zelensky’s criticism, saying the Ukrainian president is “doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does.”
“Everything out of his mouth causes problem, I don’t like it and it better stop,” he said.
