“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump said in a post on TruthSocial, referring to an earlier Russian attack on Kyiv that killed at least eight people.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently,” Trump said, adding that Washington would consider additional sanctions against Russia.
Trump’s chat with Zelenskyy earlier Saturday in Rome was the first encounter between the two leaders since their disastrous meeting at the White House in February. The Ukrainian president called it a “good meeting” and sounded encouraged in a social media post later in the day.
“Hoping for results on everything we covered,” Zelenskyy said in his post. “Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out,” he said.
Sunday’s attacks came hours after Moscow claimed to have regained control over the remaining parts of the Kursk region, which Ukrainian forces seized in a surprise incursion last August. Ukrainian officials said the fighting in Kursk was continuing.
