U.S. President Donald Trump isn’t holding back when it comes to Russia’s latest actions in Ukraine, accusing President Vladimir Putin of launching missile attacks on civilian areas “for no reason” and warning of fresh sanctions if the violence keeps up.
Fresh off a quick meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at the Vatican on Saturday, Trump took to Truth Social, blasting Moscow’s escalated strikes and questioning Putin’s true intentions. “It’s making me think he’s just stringing me along,” Trump wrote, suggesting that harsher steps like banking restrictions or secondary sanctions might soon be on the table. “Too many people are dying!!!” he added, clearly frustrated.
Interestingly, Trump’s warning came right as Putin was telling Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, that Moscow was still ready for unconditional talks with Kyiv — a meeting the Kremlin hoped would signal a path to negotiations.
While Trump painted the Kremlin’s strikes as senseless attacks on cities and towns, Moscow has stuck to its line, claiming only military or dual-use targets are being hit. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated this stance earlier in the week, telling CBS News, “We only strike military targets or civilian sites used by the military.”
But Trump wasn’t just venting at Putin. He also found time to throw punches at the New York Times — and one of its reporters, Peter Baker — accusing them of already gearing up to criticize any potential peace deal he might broker. “Even if it’s the greatest deal ever made,” Trump fumed, “The Failing New York Times will speak BADLY of it.” He also slammed recent media suggestions that Ukraine should reclaim lost territories, calling them “ridiculous requests.”
True to form, Trump doubled down on his claim that the Ukraine war would never have broken out if he had remained in the White House, once again blaming the chaos on his predecessors.
For now, with missiles flying and talks inching along behind closed doors, the world’s left wondering: Will Trump’s threats of tougher sanctions shift the battlefield — or just turn up the diplomatic heat?
