'Vladimir, STOP!' Trump chides Putin for deadly attack on Ukraine amid push for peace deal
President Trump offered rare criticism of Russia's Vladimir Putin following a deadly barrage of attacks on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.
- "I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV," Trump wrote on social media.
- He later told reporters, "we’re in the midst of talking peace and missiles were fired.”
President Donald Trump voiced what appeared to be rare frustration aimed at Russia's leader Vladimir Putin after a barrage of deadly missile and drone strikes struck Ukraine's capital Kyiv, at a time when the White House is pushing hard for both sides to agree to some form of peace deal.
"I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying,” Trump chided Putin in a post on his Truth Social platform on April 24.
"Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!"
Asked later about his social media post, Trump told reporters: “I didn’t like last night, I wasn’t happy with it and we’re in the midst of talking peace and missiles were fired.”
If Russian air assaults continue, he said, “I won’t be happy, let me put it that way. Things will happen.”
“We’re putting a lot of pressure on Russia”
Russia strikes Kyiv
Ukrainian authorities said Russia's attack killed at least eight people and injured more than 70 others.
Russia's defense ministry claimed the strikes were targeted at infrastructure connected to Ukraine's "aviation, rocket and space" industries, as well as companies that make tanks. However, the assault triggered fires, smashed buildings and buried residents under rubble in one of Moscow's deadliest assaults on Ukraine in months.
It wasn't immediately clear how Trump arrived at the 5,000 figure for weekly deaths. Earlier this year he claimed "millions" of lives had been lost during the war, which isn't accurate.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia regularly release battlefield or civilian loss totals. U.S. officials estimate the number of Ukrainian military losses to between 60,000 and 70,000, as of February 2024. The United Nations says Russia has killed over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, as of the end of 2024. Estimates for the number Russian military deaths range from 150,000 to 300,000, and higher.
In recent days, Trump has appeared to grow more frustrated over the lack of progress on a peace deal that he asserted on the campaign trail he could achieve in one day. He accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of prolonging the "killing field" because Zelenskyy has so far ruled out surrendering Crimea, a Ukrainian territory on the Black Sea annexed by Russia in 2014, as part of any possible deal.
Trump has described Zelenskyy as "inflammatory" for his stance on Crimea.
Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, is due to visit Moscow this week for a new round of talks with Putin, his fourth.