Trump says Putin is ‘playing with fire’ as Ukraine war rages on
Donald Trump has eerily alluded to the “really bad things” that could happen to Russia as he doubles down on his attack on Vladimir Putin due to the Kremlin’s Ukraine war escalation.
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US President Donald Trump has gone on another astonishing rant at Russian leader Vladimir Putin as the Kremlin continues to pummel Ukraine despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations.
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realise is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” Mr Trump posted to Truth Social.
“He’s playing with fire!” the president added.
The Kremlin said Tuesday that Mr Trump’s criticism of Vladimir Putin will not affect plans for a US-Russia prisoner exchange that the two presidents discussed in a call last week.
Mr Trump also called Putin “crazy” over the weekend after Russia pummelled Ukraine with its largest drone attack since the start of its full-scale offensive, launched in February 2022.
The Kremlin downplayed the spat when asked whether the US leader’s comments could disrupt plans for a nine-for-nine prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.
“It is clear that the Russian and American sides should not and cannot agree on everything. There will always be certain disagreements,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“But there is political will to implement the agreements that have been reached, and the work continues. We highly value this mutual willingness,” he added.
Following a two-hour call between Putin and Trump last week, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the pair had discussed “swapping nine people for nine people” – without giving any details on which prisoners.
There have been several rounds of prisoner exchanges between Washington and Moscow since Trump returned to the White House in January.
Washington has accused Moscow of “hostage taking” – arresting US citizens on baseless charges in a bid to use them as pawns to secure the release of Russians behind bars in the West.
In the latest swap last month, dual US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina was released from a Russian jail – where she was serving 12 years on treason charges after donating around $50 to a Ukrainian charity.
In exchange the United States freed Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen accused of breaking sanctions by trying to export US-made electronics to Russian military companies.
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TRUMP SUFFERING FROM ‘EMOTIONAL OVERLOAD’: KREMLIN
Russia has suggested Donald Trump is suffering from “emotional overload” after the US president blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin as “crazy” for his escalating attacks on Ukraine.
“We are really grateful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for their assistance in organising and launching this negotiation process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about Mr Trump’s earlier criticism of Mr Putin.
“Of course, at the same time, this is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overload of everyone absolutely and with emotional reactions.”
The comments come after Russia launched its largest aerial attack of the three-year war so far on Sunday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Mr Trump declared late Sunday that Mr Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY” by unleashing its biggest bombing campaign yet, just one week after assuring that peace talks would start “immediately.”
The bombardment also came after the warring nations released more than 1,000 prisoners — soldiers and civilians — in the biggest swap of the war over the weekend.
The onslaught included 355 attack drones and nine cruise missiles, Mr Zelensky posted on X.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him,” Mr Trump raged on Truth Social.
“He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.”
Mr Trump ripped into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, too.
“Everything out of [Zelensky’s] mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop. This is a War that would never have started if I were President. This is Zelensky’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not ‘Trump’s,’ I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires, that have been started through Gross Incompetence and Hatred,” he said.
It comes as US President Donald Trump issued a rare rebuke to Vladimir Putin, saying he was “not happy” with him after Moscow launched a record number of drones against Ukraine, killing 13 people across the country.
Mr Trump has expressed admiration for Mr Putin in the past, but has in recent weeks shown growing frustration with Moscow’s position in truce negotiations with Kyiv, which are deadlocked.
“I’m not happy with what Putin is doing. He’s killing a lot of people, and I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin,” Mr Trump said on the tarmac at Morristown airport before boarding Air Force One bound for Washington.
Those killed in the latest Russian strikes included two children, aged eight and 12, and a 17-year-old, killed in the northwestern region of Zhytomyr, officials said.
“Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.
Responding to a question on the tarmac in Morristown, Mr Trump said he was “absolutely” considering increasing US sanctions on Russia in response to the latest violence.
“He’s killing a lot of people. 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,” the US leader said.
That statement was at odds with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s testimony at Congress earlier this week, when he said Mr Trump believed that “right now, if you start threatening sanctions, the Russians will stop talking.”
President Trump and Putin held a two-hour phone call on Monday after which the US leader said Moscow and Kyiv would “immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire.”
Mr Putin has made no commitment to pause his three-year invasion of Ukraine, announcing only a vague proposal to work on a “memorandum” outlining Moscow’s demands for peace
RUSSIA, UKRAINE COMPLETE RECORD PRISONER SWAP
Russia says it has exchanged another 303 Ukrainian prisoners of war for the same number of Russian soldiers held by Kyiv.
The move is the last phase of the largest-ever such swap between the warring countries.
“In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached in Istanbul on May 16, the Russian and Ukrainian sides have (over the weekend) carried out the exchange of 1000 people for 1000 people,” Russia’s defence ministry said, amid international pressure for a ceasefire.
The swap came just hours after Russian strikes killed at least 12 people in Ukraine overnight into Sunday, officials said, as Kyiv and Moscow traded fire.
Ukraine’s emergency services described a night of “terror” as Russia launched a second straight night of major air strikes on Ukraine, including on the capital Kyiv, after pummelling the country with ballistic missiles and drones the previous night.
The latest fire came as the two sides pursued their biggest prisoner swap since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and as the United States tries to broker a ceasefire to halt the three-year-old war.
The death toll from the latest Russian strikes included three children ages eight, 12 and 17, killed in the northwestern region of Zhytomyr, officials said.
Ukraine’s military said early Sunday it had shot down 45 Russian missiles and 266 attack drones overnight.
Four people were also reported dead in the western Khmelnytskyi region, four in the Kyiv region and one in Mykolaiv in the south.
Emergency services said four people were killed and 16 injured in the Kyiv region, including three children, in the “massive night attack”.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv, with Tymur Tkachenko, with the head of the city’s military administration, warning “the night will not be easy”.
The capital was “under attack” but “air defences are operating”, said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Russian authorities meanwhile reported that a dozen drones flying towards Moscow had been downed.
In Moscow, restrictions were imposed on at least four airports, including the main hub Sheremetyevo, the Russian civilian aviation authority said.
The renewed attacks came after Russia launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 drones overnight Friday to Saturday, which left 15 wounded, according to Ukrainian officials.
The Russian military said on Saturday that Ukraine had targeted it with 788 drones and missiles since Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s attacks indicated Moscow was “prolonging the war” and repeated his call for ramped-up sanctions.
On Saturday, 307 Russian prisoners of war were exchanged for the same number of Ukrainian soldiers, according to announcements in Kyiv and Moscow.
Both sides received 390 people in the first stage on Friday. Russia has signalled it will send Ukraine its terms for a peace settlement after the exchange, without saying what those terms would be.
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