Trump accuses Zelensky of ‘pissing away’ aid from US, Russian drone strike as Kremlin makes new demands

Donald Trump accused Volodymyr Zelensky of having “p****d away” billions in US aid as the Kremlin made new demands before more talks, and a Russian drone attack hit a bus.

President Donald Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky of having “pissed away” billions of dollars in US aid for the war-torn country.

Trump, in an interview with Fox News’ “Special Report” host Bret Baier, insisted that Kyiv’s management of US-provided funds bothered him more than the amount of money Washington has doled out to Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

“The money is the money,” the president said. “What bothered me — I hated to see the way it was, you know, excuse me, pissed away.”

Trump vented his frustrations with Zelensky’s handling of US aid in response to a question from Baier on whether he’s considering additional sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I hated to see that checks were sent for $60 billion every time Zelensky [travelled to Washington],” he fumed.

“I think he’s the greatest salesman in the world. Far better than me,” Trump said of the Ukrainian president.

US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Picture: AFP

“Where is all this money going?” he added.

Trump continued to voice his displeasure with Kyiv even after Baier interjected, “But I’m focused on Putin.”

“We send checks. We don’t always send equipment. We send — just checks. We send — just cash,” the president claimed. “Where is it?”

When Trump started to argue that European nations should’ve contributed more than the US to the war effort, Baier once again tried to redirect him to his Putin question.

“Wait,” Trump responded, before arguing that the US has been “treated worse” than Europe by Ukraine.

“We inherited this mess, but I think it’s going to get solved.”

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KREMLIN WANTS POW EXCHANGE BEFORE TALKS

It comes as the Kremlin on Saturday said that Ukraine and Russia must first complete an agreed prisoner-of-war exchange and come up with ceasefire conditions, before planning any new talks.

‘“For now, we need to do what the delegations agreed on yesterday” in Turkey -- the first direct talks in over three years -- the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists following a question on whether there were plans for a second round of talks.

‘“This, of course, means first and foremost to complete a 1,000 for 1,000 (POW) swap.”

Rescuers recover the bodies of passengers after a Russian drone struck a passenger bus at the village of Bilopillya in the Sumy region, Ukraine. Picture: AP

RUSSIAN DRONE ATTACK KILLS 9 IN MINIBUS

Nine people were killed in a Russian drone attack on a minibus carrying civilians in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region on Saturday, the local military administration said.

“Unfortunately, as a result of a cynical attack by Russians on a bus with civilians, there are dead,” the administration said in a Telegram post.

“Unfortunately, the death toll has risen to nine,” they added later, alongside a photo of a mangled blue minibus that had apparently been torn apart by the blast.

Four people were wounded in the attack, the administration said. In the earlier post, the authorities had said that eight people were killed. The bus, which was attacked near the city of Bilopillya while travelling towards Sumy, was “targeted by the Russians”, the military administration said.

Part of this story originally appeared in The New York Post.

Originally published as Trump accuses Zelensky of ‘pissing away’ aid from US, Russian drone strike as Kremlin makes new demands