In a telephone interview with NBC News early on Sunday, Trump mentioned Putin’s comments on putting Ukraine in external governance on Friday. Trump said he was “angry, angry” when Putin “started into Zelenskyy’s credibility.”
Putin repeated his claim that Zelenskyy’s term expired last year and that he lacked the legality of signing a peace agreement. According to the Ukrainian constitution, it is illegal for the country to hold national elections in martial arts.
“If there is no deal, if I think it is Russia’s fault, I will impose secondary sanctions on Russia.”
“Anyone who buys oil from Russia will not be able to sell its products to the United States, any product, not just oil,” he said.
Despite this, Trump reiterated that he and Putin had a “very good relationship”.
The United States has been pushing for a comprehensive ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine to peacefully end their three-year war.
Russia effectively rejected a U.S. proposal to stop work immediately in combat, creating a feasibility of a local ceasefire after Kremlin negotiators implemented far-reaching conditions.
Trump’s comments on Putin came after a few weeks of putting huge pressure on Ukraine’s agreement to a ceasefire.
Russian drones attacked Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. Russian drones attacked military hospitals, shopping centers and apartment blocks in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, killing two people and dozens of people.
Ukraine’s General Staff condemned the “intentional shelling” of military hospitals on Saturday night. Its casualties include service members who are undergoing treatment. Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the people 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 new military offensive in the coming weeks to maximize pressure on Kiev and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in the Ceasefire negotiations.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 111 explosions of drones and baits overnight in Sunday’s latest attack. It said 65 of them were intercepted and another 35 were lost, which is likely trapped by electronics.
Zelenskyy said on Sunday that “most parts of Ukraine” have been attacked by Russia in the past week. He wrote on X: “1,310 Russian-guided air bombs, more than 1,000 attack drones (mainly ‘Shaheds’, and nine missiles including ballistic bombs, including ballistic bombs”.
Zelenskyy also repeated his assertion that “Russia is delaying the war”, and his comments in Paris on Thursday echoed Russia’s prolonged ceasefire talks, “just to buy time and then try to grab more land.”
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said its air defense system shot down six Ukrainian drones. It also claimed that its troops controlled a village in the partly occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine on Sunday. Russia’s claims cannot be independently verified, and Ukraine has not commented.
