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President Donald Trump said he's "not happy" with the Kremlin following its strikes on Ukraine's capital city Kyiv and called out Russian President Vladimir Putin by name in a post shared on his Truth Social account.
"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!" Trump wrote.
The Truth Social post was shared one day after Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of prolonging the war -- which started with Russia invading Ukraine in February 2022 -- by not agreeing to a U.S. peace proposal ceasing Russian-controlled territories in Ukraine to Moscow.
“I think we have a deal with Russia. We have to get a deal with Zelensky and I hope that Zelensky – I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelenskyy — so far it’s been harder,” Trump said via CNN.
Russia then launched its deadliest attack on Kyiv in nine months, which resulted in at least eight deaths, according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office via CNN. Zelensky claimed that the bombardment was to "pressure" the Trump administration amid the ceasefire proposal.
“Today’s attack is one of the Russian’s most complex, most daring,” Zelensky told reporters in South Africa via CNN.
“Russia understands that Ukraine is standing and protecting its right, and (Russia) is pressuring our people. It is also pressuring the US, which I also think is related to this attack. Rather first and foremost,” he added.