The United States President, Donald Trump, said Vladimir Putin has “gone absolutely CRAZY” by unleashing the largest aerial attack of the war on Ukraine and said he was weighing new sanctions on Moscow, though he also scolded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Trump posted the remark on Truth Social as sleeping Ukrainians woke to a third consecutive night of Russian aerial attacks, listening for hours to drones buzzing near their homes and eruptions of Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 355 drones and nine cruise missiles against Ukraine overnight, a huge salvo that the air force’s spokesman told Reuters made it Russia’s largest drone attack of the war to date.
“Something has happened to him (Putin). He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump said of the Russian president on Truth Social, referring to the previous night’s attack by Russia.
“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!”
Trump also criticised Zelenskiy, posting that the Ukrainian leader “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.”
The Kremlin, asked about Trump’s specific remarks about Putin being “crazy”, thanked the U.S. people and Trump in person for their assistance in launching peace negotiations but suggested Trump and others might be emotionally overloaded.
“This is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overload of everyone absolutely and with emotional reactions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The Ukrainian air force said the third Russian aerial attack in a row hit targets in five locations, but did not elaborate, implying military damage.
A 14-year-old boy was reported injured in the Black Sea region of Odesa. Residential buildings and industrial facilities were damaged in western Ukraine, officials said.