UNITED States President Donald Trump said Russian leader Vladimir Putin could be working for his country’s downfall with its unrestrained bid to take over Ukraine.
He described Putin as going “absolutely crazy” following Russia’s largest aerial assault on Ukraine on Sunday, adding that he is weighing additional sanctions on Moscow.
Trump said this while speaking with reporters at the airport in Morristown, New Jersey.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him. What the hell happened to him? Right? He’s killing a lot of people. I’m not happy about that.”
“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!” Trump said.
“Something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely crazy!,” Trump said.
Trump’s remarks followed a phone call with the Russian leader that failed to yield progress in Ukraine peace talks, prompting European nations to announce a new round of sanctions against Moscow.
European leaders and Ukraine have called for Russia to agree to an immediate ceasefire, while Trump has emphasised getting Putin to commit to a 30-day truce. However, Putin has resisted, insisting that certain conditions must be met first.
He raised the possibility of introducing additional sanctions on Russia in response to the continued assaults.
In his latest post, Trump also took aim at Volodymyr Zelenskiy, stating that the Ukrainian leader “is doing his country no favours by the way he speaks.
“Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop.”
The ICIR reported that Trump had bragged that meaningful progress toward peace was unlikely without a direct meeting between him and Putin. This came as delegates from the warring nations gathered last week in Istanbul for their first talks since March 2022, following a proposal for immediate ceasefire negotiations put forward by Trump, European leaders, and Ukraine.
As major powers continue their discussions, the war is escalating, and Russian forces are making gains in eastern Ukraine.
In the largest aerial assault since the war began, Russia launched at least 367 drones and missiles overnight on Sunday, May 26, striking Ukrainian cities and other targets.
According to Ukrainian officials, the attack killed at least 12 people, including three children in the northern region of Zhytomyr.
The Kremlin claimed it was carrying out a “special military operation” in Ukraine to defend against NATO’s expansion toward its borders.
Meanwhile, Ukraine maintained that Russia had launched an unprovoked war of aggression.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.