President Trump lashed out at both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, expressing frustration with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders as he struggles to forge a truce in the three-year-old war between their nations.
Although Mr. Trump insisted to reporters that “we’re making a lot of progress,” he acknowledged that “there’s tremendous hatred” between the two men, a fresh indication that negotiations may not produce the swift conclusion that he promised during the campaign.
Mr. Trump began voicing his criticisms in an early morning interview with NBC News while he was at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida. He said he was “angry, pissed off” that Putin questioned Zelenskyy’s credibility.
The Russian leader recently said Zelenskyy lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal and suggested that Ukraine needed external governance.
Mr. Trump said he would consider adding new sanctions on Russia, which already faces steep financial penalties, and using tariffs to undermine its oil exports.
The Republican president rarely criticizes Putin, and he’s previously attacked Zelenskyy’s credibility himself. For example, Mr. Trump has suggested that Ukraine caused the war that began with a Russian invasion three years ago, and he’s insisted that Zelenskyy should hold elections even though it’s illegal under Ukraine’s constitution to do so during martial law.
On his flight back to Washington on Sunday evening, Mr. Trump reiterated his annoyance toward Putin but somewhat softened his tone.
“I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word,” he said. “I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve always gotten along well.”
Asked when he wanted Russia to agree to a ceasefire, Mr. Trump said there was a “psychological deadline.”
“If I think they’re tapping us along, I will not be happy about it,” he said.
On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin “remains open to contact with President Trump,” adding that “there is no scheduled” call between them but that “when it is necessary, their conversation will be promptly organized.”
Peskov also said Russia “continues to work with the United States to build bilateral relations.”
Mr. Trump pivoted to criticizing Zelenskyy later in Sunday evening’s flight.
“He’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal,” Mr. Trump said, referring to negotiations over U.S. access to critical minerals in Ukraine. “And if he does that, he’s got some problems. Big, big problems.”
Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy were supposed to sign the deal when the Ukrainian leader visited the White House. However, their meeting ended with acrimony that played out in front of television cameras in the Oval Office.
Mr. Trump suggested on Sunday that Zelenskyy wanted to “renegotiate the deal” to get better security guarantees.
“He wants to be a member of NATO,” he said. “Well, he was never going to be a member of NATO. He understands that.”
Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the Russia-Ukraine fighting, and the feasibility of a partial ceasefire on the Black Sea was thrown into doubt after Kremlin negotiators imposed far-reaching conditions.
Mr. Trump’s comments on Putin come after weeks of intense pressure on Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Russian drones hit a military hospital, shopping center and apartment blocks in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, killing two people and wounding dozens.
Ukraine’s General Staff denounced the “deliberate, targeted shelling” of the military hospital late Saturday. Among the casualties were service members who were undergoing treatment, it said. Regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said those killed were a 67-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman.
According to Ukrainian government and military analysts, Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks to maximize pressure on Kyiv and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks.
