Former U.S. President Donald Trump raised doubts about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s commitment to ending the war in Ukraine and condemned recent missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, CNN reported. Trump’s comments followed a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican on Saturday, ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral.
This marked the first face-to-face discussion between Trump and Zelenskyy since their tense meeting in Washington earlier this year. During their talk, the two leaders focused on achieving a “full and unconditional ceasefire,” according to Zelenskyy, who described the meeting as “good” and expressed optimism about the results.
In a post on his Truth Social platform while returning to the United States, Trump criticized Russia’s ongoing missile strikes and hinted at the possibility of new sanctions targeting Moscow. He questioned whether Putin truly wants to negotiate an end to the conflict, suggesting that harsher financial penalties, such as “banking” or “secondary sanctions,” might be necessary.
Trump also took the opportunity to criticize former President Barack Obama, claiming that Obama enabled Russia’s annexation of Crimea without resistance. “It was Obama who made it possible for Russia to steal Crimea from Ukraine without even a shot being fired,” Trump posted, while also disparaging New York Times journalist Peter Baker for allegedly biased coverage.
Trump distanced himself from the current war, labeling it as “Sleepy Joe Biden’s War” and claiming it would not have occurred under his presidency. “I’ve had nothing to do with this stupid war, other than early on when I gave Ukraine Javelins, and Obama gave them sheets,” Trump wrote.
Meanwhile, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung described the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting as “very productive,” promising that further details would be released soon.
Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, hailed the meeting’s significance in a post on X, calling it a “historic” moment that brought two leaders together in pursuit of peace at St. Peter’s Basilica.
In related developments, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin on Friday. According to Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the three-hour meeting, which included Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov and RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev, was described as “constructive and very useful,” touching on Ukraine and other international matters.
As diplomatic efforts continue, the world watches to see whether these high-level talks will translate into meaningful progress toward ending the conflict.
