U.S. President Donald Trump voiced deep frustration over
recent escalations by Russia in its war against Ukraine, calling Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s actions “very disappointing.” While Trump said
efforts by the U.S. to broker peace between the two nations are “going fine,”
he also hinted at skepticism regarding Putin’s sincerity.
“We’ll find out if he’s stringing us along. If that’s the
case, we’ll respond differently — probably within a week and a half to two
weeks,” Trump told reporters Wednesday at the White House. “They seem
interested in reaching an agreement, but until a deal is actually signed, no
one can say for sure.”
Trump criticized recent Russian attacks amid ongoing
negotiations. “I was very disappointed with what happened over the past couple
of nights — people were killed right in the middle of peace talks,” he said.
“When I see rockets fired into cities, that’s unacceptable. We’re not going to
tolerate that.”
Despite a successful prisoner exchange last week, Russia has
increased its missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian targets in recent days.
Trump, who once expressed admiration for Putin, has shifted his tone, recently
calling the Russian leader “CRAZY” and warning that he is “playing with fire.”
Asked why he hasn’t imposed new sanctions on Moscow, Trump
responded: “If I think we’re close to a deal, I’m not going to risk blowing it
up with sanctions. Believe me, I’m tougher than anyone you’re talking about —
but you have to know when to use that.”
He added, “If I think sanctions would derail peace, I won’t
use them. This isn’t my war — it’s Biden’s war, Zelenskyy’s war, Putin’s war.
It’s not Trump’s war.”
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early
2022. Since then, hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides have been
killed.
Also on Wednesday, a United Nations report concluded that
Russia has been systematically committing war crimes against civilians in
Ukraine’s Kherson region.
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