President Trump blasted Vladimir Putin on Thursday and urged the Russian president to “STOP!” after Moscow launched its deadliest attack on Ukraine in almost a year overnight.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV,” Trump raged in a Truth Social post.
“Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”
His rare criticism of Putin came soon after Russia struck Kyiv with an hours-long barrage of missiles and drones — killing at least nine and wounding more than 70.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky branded the attack, which is the deadliest there since last July, as “one of the most outrageous.”
He appeared to take a swipe at the White House, too, as the Trump administration continues to push peace efforts to end the three-year war.
Trump on Wednesday questioned Kyiv’s readiness to reach a peace deal, despite Zelensky having signed on to a Trump-proposed cease-fire agreement more than a month ago.
Meanwhile, the president claimed without proof that Moscow was “ready” to end its war.
Here’s what Russia and Ukraine each get in Trump’s ‘final offer’ peace deal
What Russia gets
- Formal US recognition of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula as Russian territory — a major departure from Washington’s longstanding Welles doctrine, which refuses to acknowledge annexed territory as belonging to the seizing power.
- “De facto” recognition of Russia’s occupation of four regions in eastern Ukraine, meaning the US would acknowledge Moscow controls the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts while formally considering them Ukrainian land.
- A pledge that the US would not support Ukraine becoming a member of NATO.
- Lifting sanctions to boost Russia’s economy, which has struggled throughout its war on Ukraine.
- Opportunities for more economic cooperation with the US, especially in the energy and industrial fields.
What Ukraine gets
- Assistance from European military forces as “a robust security guarantee” following a cease-fire. The US would not be involved in this measure.
- Russia would return a small portion of Ukraine’s Kharkiv oblast currently occupied by Moscow.
- Navigation rights in the Dnieper River, which runs along the front lines.
- Assistance in post-war rebuilding, though it is unclear from where that funding would come.
“It has been 44 days since Ukraine agreed to a full ceasefire and a halt to strikes. This was a proposal from the United States,” Zelensky said in an X post.
“And it has been 44 days of Russia continuing to kill our people and evading tough pressure and accountability for its actions.”
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