US President Donald Trump again displayed anger with Russia following its latest deadly attack on Kyiv — a strike that killed 16 people and injured dozens — calling the action “disgusting” and vowing to slap new sanctions on Moscow.
“Russia, I think it’s disgusting what they’re doing,” Trump told reporters at the White House on July 31.
“I think what Russia’s doing is very sad. A lot of Russians are dying.”
He said the United States plans to impose new sanctions on Moscow, without being specific. But he added that “I don’t know that sanctions bother him,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Western nations have imposed a long series of financial measures against Russia, causing the economy to crater as they seek to deny the funding needed to finance the Kremlin’s war.
The US president said his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would travel to Moscow following a trip to Israel, where he is discussing the situation in Gaza with Israeli officials. He did not provide an itinerary for Witkoff’s Moscow stop.
The remarks come hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for “regime change” in the Kremlin, saying it was the only way to prevent Russia from attempting to “destabilize” the region in the future.
Speaking remotely to an event marking 50 years since the signing of the Cold War-era Helsinki Final Act, Zelenskyy on July 31 said he believed it was still possible for Western allies to “push” Russia to stop its war on Ukraine.
“But if the world doesn’t aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilize neighboring countries,” Zelenskyy said.
“Today, we clearly know what is needed to bring peace back to Europe, to force Russia into peace, to end this war,” he said later during his nightly video address.
“There will be new sanctions against Russia and new strong steps in support of Ukraine. I thank everyone around the world who is helping,” he added.
Meanwhile, at the United Nations, senior US diplomat John Kelly told the Security Council on July 31 that Trump is adamant about an announced August 8 deadline for a cease-fire deal to be reached in Ukraine.
“Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a cease-fire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8,” he said.
Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that, after waiting through six months of diplomacy, Trump will soon be forced to decide how actively to continue his efforts toward a cease-fire if one side refuses to accept a truce.
Rubio said US and Russian officials had conducted private negotiations on the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine but that Washington saw “no progress” in the talks.
Trump, who has said he was “very disappointed” with Putin for refusing to end the war, announced on July 29 that he would shorten his previously announced 50-day deadline for the Russian leader to reach a cease-fire deal to “10-12 days.”
Trump had said the United States would slap new tariffs on Russia should it refuse to accept a cease-fire. Zelenskyy has said he is ready to accept such a truce and has suggested a direct meeting with Putin — which the Kremlin has rejected.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, gave a terse response to the 10-12-day deadline on July 29, saying the Kremlin had “taken note” of Trump’s comments without elaborating.
As progress toward a cease-fire appeared stalled, the violence and killing continued among the civilian population in Ukraine.
Overnight on July 30-31, at least 16 people were killed — including a 6-year-old boy — and some 150 injured in Kyiv following an overnight Russian attack with missiles and drones, according to the head of the city’s military administration.
“There are more than a hundred affected sites,” Tymur Tkachenko said, adding that damage or casualties were reported at more than 27 locations, with the Solomyanskiy district, one of Kyiv’s busiest, being heavily targeted.
“Residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, medical facilities, and a university. These are the places the Russians are attacking,” he added.
“Unfortunately, the number of victims of Russia’s attack on residential buildings continues to grow,” the Ukrainian interior ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that more than a thousand police officers and rescue workers were deployed in response to the aftermath of the attack on July 31.
“This is Putin’s response to Trump’s deadlines,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. “The world must respond with a tribunal and maximum pressure.”
“I saw it with my own eyes — people being pulled from under the rubble at the rescue site. It’s heartbreaking to see parents searching for their children and relatives looking for loved ones,” Svyrydenko said after visiting the scene of the attack in Kyiv.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called it “a horrible morning in Kyiv,” saying Russian strikes destroyed residential buildings, damaged schools and hospitals, and left civilians dead, wounded, and trapped under rubble.
He said that Ukraine has initiated an urgent UN Security Council meeting in response to “Russia’s latest escalation of terror.” He said the meeting was scheduled to take place on August 1.
