President Donald Trump has condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia launched 355 drone attacks and nine cruise missiles across five regions in Ukraine, resulting in at least 12 fatalities, including three children in the Zhytomyr region.
Trump also cautioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding his recent call for more sanctions on Russia, reports Reuters.
Ukrainian officials said it marked the most intense drone and missile attack since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
The Ukrainian air force also reported that the strikes were concentrated on both civilian infrastructure and unspecified military targets, with residential and industrial buildings damaged.
A 14-year-old boy was also injured in the southern Black Sea region of Odesa.
In a post via his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump expressed his frustrations about the attack, suggesting huge consequences for Russia.
“Something has happened to him (Putin). He has gone absolutely crazy!” Trump wrote.
“I’ve always said that he wants all of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right. But if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!,” he added.
Speaking later to reporters in Morristown, New Jersey, Trump added: “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. What the hell happened to him? Right? He’s killing a lot of people. I’m not happy about that.”
Trump also raised the possibility of imposing additional sanctions on Russia, should the Kremlin continue its military aggression and stall negotiations.
However, Trump’s criticism was not limited to Putin.
He also criticised Zelenskyy’s public appeals for stronger Western action.
“Zelensky is doing his Country no favours by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems. I don’t like it, and it better stop,” Trump wrote.
Zelensky had recently accused the international community, particularly the U.S., of focusing too much on dialogue and not enough on applying pressure to Moscow.
“Only a sense of total impunity can allow Russia to carry out such strikes and continue increasing their scale,” Zelensky said in a statement on X.
“Putin shows just how much he despises the world, the world that spends more effort on ‘dialogue’ with him than on real pressure,” he added.
Zelensky once again called for increased sanctions on Russia and more military assistance, including advanced U.S.-made air defence systems and ammunition.
Meanwhile, in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov defended the latest wave of attacks, describing them as a “response strike” to recent Ukrainian attempts to hit Russian infrastructure, including civilian areas and major cities.
“We are forced to take measures,” Peskov told reporters.
“President Putin does what is necessary to provide security for Russia,” he added.
When asked about Trump’s remarks, Peskov acknowledged the U.S. President’s role in initiating peace talks, calling it “a very important achievement” and attributing Trump’s outburst to the “emotional overload” of the moment.
“We carefully monitor all the reactions. However, President Putin takes those decisions which are necessary for the security of our country.”
Ukraine’s military intelligence believes Russia has no genuine intention of ending the war.
In an interview with local media, General Oleh Ivashchenko, head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service, said the Kremlin’s goal is to take full control of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
“They’re exhausted technologically, economically and diplomatically,” Ivashchenko said.
“We expect serious problems in the Russian economy by the end of the year. By engaging in peace talks, the Russians are playing for time in order to regroup.”
He added that Ukraine still maintains a limited presence in Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions and that fighting remains intense along the front.
The Trump administration has prioritised dialogue as a means of ending the war, while the Vatican has indicated its willingness to host the mediation of the war between both countries.
