United States President Donald Trump has condemned Russian leader Vladimir Putin after the kremlin’s latest aerial assault on Ukraine, which killed 12 civilians, including three children, and destroyed several residential areas.
Trump, who once praised Putin’s leadership, described the Russian president action as “reckless” and warned that the continued attacks could lead to the eventual downfall of Russia.
The president’s condemnation came after the Ukrainian government criticized the United States for its “silence” following Russia’s largest air raid in the three-year-old war, marked by a second consecutive night of massive drone and ballistic missile strikes that killed several civilians.
In response, Trump, through his Truth Social platform, said Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY” by unleashing the largest aerial attack of the war on Ukraine and noted that he was considering new sanctions on Moscow.
“Something has happened to him — he has gone absolutely CRAZY! 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 also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that the leader “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.”
The Kremlin, when asked about Trump’s specific remarks about Putin being “crazy,” thanked the American people and its president for their role in launching peace negotiations but suggested that Trump and others might be emotionally overwhelmed.
“This is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overload of absolutely everyone,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia’s third aerial attack in a row struck targets in five locations but did not provide details, implying the strikes may have hit military infrastructure.
The attacks came as the two countries completed their largest prisoner exchange since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, with each side releasing 1,000 captured soldiers and civilians.
The scale of the latest assault and the civilian toll prompted the European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, to call for the strongest possible international pressure on Russia to stop the war.
According to her, “Last night’s attacks again show Russia bent on more suffering and the annihilation of Ukraine; devastating to see children among innocent victims harmed and killed … we need the strongest international pressure on Russia to stop this war.”
