United States President Donald Trump has strongly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin after Moscow launched its deadliest aerial attack on Ukraine since the war began in 2022.
Speaking to journalists in New Jersey on Sunday night, Trump said: “What the hell happened to him? He’s killing a lot of people.” He later described Putin as “absolutely crazy” on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump’s comments came after Russia fired 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities in a single night — the highest number of aerial attacks in one day since the invasion began over two years ago. Ukrainian officials said at least 12 people were killed and dozens injured.
In the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, three people, including a child, were injured. Two others were wounded in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Air raid sirens continued to sound across several parts of Ukraine on Monday.
In response, Moscow claimed it destroyed two Ukrainian drones heading toward the Russian capital, Moscow. No injuries were reported there.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the United States of being “silent” about Russia’s latest attacks, which he believes is giving Putin more courage. He called on Washington to apply tougher sanctions on Moscow and increase diplomatic pressure.
While Trump expressed his disapproval of Putin’s actions, he also criticised Zelensky’s tone. “He is doing his country no favours by talking the way he does,” Trump said. “Everything out of his mouth causes problems. I don’t like it, and it better stop.”
Trump, who recently had a two-hour phone call with Putin, said both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to begin peace talks. He described the call as “very well,” adding that negotiations toward a ceasefire would “immediately start.”
Kyiv has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposal. However, Putin has only committed to creating a “memorandum” for possible future peace, which Ukraine and European countries say is just a way to delay real progress.
The latest attack happened just days after Russian and Ukrainian officials met for their first direct talks since 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. Despite a prisoner exchange last week, there has been little progress toward ending the war.
Russia currently occupies about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including the Crimea Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
As international calls for peace grow louder, many are watching to see if Trump’s pressure on both sides will lead to any real breakthrough in the coming weeks.
