Donald Trump pledged to end the war in Ukraine as soon as he returned to the Oval Office—but late Wednesday, amid a collapsing peace deal, Russia dropped more bombs on Kyiv.
By early Thursday—nearly 100 days into Trump’s second term—the president had resorted to begging his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to stop the violence.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
Russia barraged Ukraine’s capital with missiles and drones for 11 hours Wednesday night. The attack killed at least eight people and injured more than 70, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told Reuters.
The Kremlin claimed the attack was aimed at Ukraine’s defense industry, allegedly targeting manufacturing plants that produced “rocket fuel and gunpowder,” but the targets it hit were instead in five different Kyiv neighborhoods.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy decried the attack as “one of (Russia’s) most outrageous.”
State Secretary Marco Rubio spontaneously pulled out of Ukraine peace talks Wednesday after Zelenskiy plainly rejected a U.S.-backed deal that would permanently hand over Crimea to Russia.
“Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea,” Zelenskiy said at a press conference in Kyiv Tuesday. “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our Constitution.”
Responding via a post on Truth Social Wednesday, Trump claimed that the territory was “lost years ago” and “and is not even a point of discussion.”
In a statement released later that day, Zelenskiy stressed that his country was dedicated to achieving peace—but that Ukraine “will always in accordance with its Constitution.”
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned Wednesday night’s attack, denoting Russia and the country’s “war aims” as the obstacle in front of ending the war.
“While claiming to seek peace, Russia launched a deadly airstrike on Kyiv,” Kallas wrote on X. “This isn’t a pursuit of peace, it’s a mockery of it.”
The post Trump Reduced to Begging Putin on Social Media to Stop Bombing Ukraine appeared first on New Republic.
