US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he is “not happy” with his Russian counterpart and went as far as calling him “absolutely crazy” after he launched one of the biggest airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv since the start of the war. Trump accused Vladimir Putin of “needlessly killing a lot of people”, which could lead to the “downfall of Russia”.
Taking to Truth Social on May 26, he wrote, “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely crazy!”
He added that Putin doesn’t want a part of Ukraine but all of it: “He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into cities in Ukraine for no reason whatsoever. I’ve always said that he wants all of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right,” before adding, “…it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”
Russia hit Ukraine at a time when the negotiations between the two countries are underway.
He also said that his Ukrainian counterpart speaks in a way that causes problems. “President Zelenskyy is doing his country no favours by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop.”
He further said that the war would have never started had he been the President, and added that he is working towards putting out “big and ugly” fires. “This is a War that would never have started if I were President. This is Zelenskyy’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not ‘Trump’s’. I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires that have been started through gross incompetence and hatred.”
While speaking to reporters at Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey, Trump said that he failed to understand “what the hell happened to Putin” and expressed that he “doesn’t like it at all”, AP reported.
“I don’t like what Putin is doing. Not even a little bit,” the president further emphasised.
The attack was the largest aerial assault since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, according to Ukrainian officials. As per a report by Fox News, 298 drones and 69 missiles were launched on Kyiv. At least 12 people were killed and dozens were injured.
After the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for an international response.
“The silence of America, the silence of others in the world, only encourages Putin. Every such terrorist Russian strike is reason enough for new sanctions against Russia,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.