WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to cease missile and drone strikes on Ukraine after a renewed wave of attacks on Kyiv.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
The development comes a day after Trump said Ukrainian President Zelensky was hampering peace talks on ending the war with Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov at a briefing earlier on Thursday said Russia was continuing to hit military and military-adjacent targets.
Trump’s statement came following his criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday for saying Ukraine would not recognise Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
“This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia,” Trump said in a social media post.
Trump said Crimea was lost years ago, and is not even a point of discussion. He said a deal to halt the Ukraine war was very close.
US Vice President JD Vance has warned that the United States would walk away unless Russia and Ukraine agree on a peace deal, and as envoys from Washington, Kyiv, and European nations gathered for downgraded talks in Britain.
Trump frustrated
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had presented a US plan to end the war and discussed it with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, last week.
Both Rubio and Trump have warned that the United States could walk away from peace talks unless it sees quick progress.
In response to the US ultimatums, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters, “It has to be up to Ukraine to decide its future” and “we will never walk away from Ukraine”.
