President Trump expressed dismay with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin early Friday, admitting that the Kremlin tyrant has no interest in stopping his bloody war on neighboring Ukraine anytime soon.
“I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had [Thursday] with President Putin because I don’t think he’s there. I’m just saying, I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad,” Trump told reporters after returning to Washington following a pre-Independence Day event in Iowa.
“It’s [former President Joe] Biden’s war, and I got stuck in the middle of it, just like I did with immigration and a lot of other things that they screwed up,” he went on. “But I was not happy with the conversation.”
During the roughly hour-long call, Moscow’s ruler stated that his country “will not back down” from the “goals” of its invasion, according to a Kremlin readout.
Russia has insisted that any peace agreement with Ukraine recognize its troop gains in the eastern Donbas region, a prospect Kyiv sees as a red line.
Moscow has also repeatedly rejected American and European cease-fire proposals, which have received buy-in from the Ukrainian government.
Prior to departing for Iowa, the president made clear that “I didn’t make any progress” with his Russian counterpart “at all.”
Earlier this week, the White House confirmed that it had halted shipments of missiles and other valuable materiel to Ukraine following a review of American stockpiles.
“Biden emptied out our whole country, giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves,” the 47th president contended.
“We’ve given so many weapons, but we are giving weapons, and we’re working with them and trying to help them.”
Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of last week’s NATO summit in The Hague and later indicated he was “going to see” if the US could send Patriot missile interceptors to Ukraine.
Trump had a call with Zelensky Friday before heading off for a round of golf at his northern Virginia course.
“We — in Ukraine — are grateful for all the support provided. It helps us protect lives, safeguard our freedom and independence,” Zelensky recapped on X. “President Trump is very well informed, and I thank him for his attention to Ukraine.”
“We spoke about opportunities in air defense and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies. We have also agreed to a meeting between our teams.”
Overnight, Russia again pummeled Ukraine with more than 500 drones and 11 missiles, breaking its prior record for the largest aerial attack of its kind on Kyiv.
At least 23 were injured in the brutal bombardment.
In Washington, bipartisan pressure has been mounting to pass a sanctions package that would further tighten the screws on Moscow.
So far, the Trump administration has encouraged lawmakers to soften the punitive measures in order to avoid jeopardizing potential peace talks with Russia.
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