Trump Criticizes Putin After Kyiv Strikes
Photo Credit: President Vladimir Putin meets with President Donald Trump in Germany, 2017. — Reuters
WASHINGTON: On Thursday, President Donald Trump directed his criticism toward Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia launched a series of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv overnight, stating, "Vladimir, STOP!"
In a social media post, Trump expressed his discontent regarding the Russian strikes on Kyiv, declaring them "unnecessary" and "poorly timed." This statement followed his earlier comments about Ukraine’s leader allegedly obstructing peace negotiations aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The Kremlin has yet to respond to requests for comments on Trump’s statements.
When approached for comments about the strikes during a press briefing on Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia was continuing to target "military and military-related sites."
Trump’s unusual condemnation of Putin came after he criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday for insisting that Ukraine would not acknowledge Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a longstanding position of Kyiv. Trump remarked in a social media post, "This statement is very damaging to the Peace Negotiations with Russia."
In March, Trump had a contentious meeting with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office and mentioned that Crimea was lost "a long time ago" and shouldn’t even be a topic for negotiation.
