President Donald Trump slammed Vladimir Putin on Thursday, calling on the Russian leader to "STOP!" after Moscow's unleashed its deadliest attack on Ukraine in nearly a year that could jeopardize the peace talks that White House has been trying to initiate to put an end to the more-than three-year-long war between the two countries.
"I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!" an infuriated Trump wrote in a Truth Social post urging the Russian dictator not to escalate tensions once again in order to end the war.
Trump Blasts Putin after Devastating Attack
Trump's rare criticism of Putin came moments after Russia launched an extensive missile and drone attack on Kyiv, resulting in the death of at least nine people and injuring over 70 people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the air strike, the deadliest Kyiv has witnessed since last July. Zelensky called it "one of the most outrageous" assaults.
Zelensky also pointed out that for the past six weeks, Russia has consistently rejected Trump's proposed cease-fire plan. "This was a proposal from the United States," he said.
"And it has been 44 days of Russia continuing to kill our people and evading tough pressure and accountability for its actions."
Despite that, on Wednesday, Trump cast doubt on Kyiv's willingness to reach a peace deal, claiming—without providing evidence—that Moscow was "ready" to end the conflict.
Washington Also Has Doubts on Ukraine's Willingness
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that he was not sure whether a peace deal would be finalized "by the end of the week," as Trump had expected, according to the Kyiv Independent.
"I'm hopeful that we can get to something quickly," he said. "And I remain hopeful that we can get something done because this is a terrible war and it needs to end."
However, he admitted that the Trump administration might ultimately not be able to broker a peace deal and end the ongoing war.
"We have a better understanding of (the Russian position) now — because we've actually spoken to them after three years of not speaking to them — what is the Ukrainian position, and figure out, 'are these guys even in the same neighborhood because of their completely different zip codes?'" he said.
"Then, we may have to conclude that they're so far apart that peace is impossible at this time," he added.
He still remained hopeful, saying, "we can be successful, but ultimately it's not up to us." "It's up to Russia, and it's up to Ukraine," he said. "They have to make the decision that they're willing to move closer to one another, and we need to start to see progress."
