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Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that was “very surprised” that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, has intensified the bombardment of Ukrainian cities despite the US president’s efforts to broker a ceasefire.
“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”, Trump said at an airport in New Jersey. “I’ve known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people and I don’t like it at all.”
“We’re in the middle of talking and he’s shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities,” Trump said. “I don’t like it at all. And I’m surprised. I’m very surprised.”
Asked by a reporter what he intended to do about the renewed Russian assault on Ukraine, Trump said: “We’ll see what we’re going to do. What, am I going to tell you? You’re the fake news, aren’t you? You’re totally fake.”
“I don’t like what Putin is doing, not even a little bit, he’s killing people,” Trump added. “Something happened to this guy, and I don’t like it.”
Pressed by a reporter to say if he was now seriously considering “putting more sanctions on Russia”, Trump replied: “Absolutely. He’s killing a lot of people. What the hell happened to him?”
His comments come one month after Trump posted rare criticism of Putin on social media. “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!” Trump wrote in an April post on his Truth Social platform. “Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”
During his campaign for the presidency, Trump had repeatedly claimed that if elected, he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, even before being inaugurated.
The president also confirmed that he had agreed to postpone the implementation of his newly announced 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union until 9 July, after a call from Ursula von der Leyen, the EU president. “We had a very nice call”, Trump said, confirming the pause announced by von der Leyen in a social media post earlier on Sunday.
“Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively,” von der Leyen wrote. “To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9.”
Trump also reiterated comments he previously posted on social media seeking to justify his administration’s crackdown on Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students.
