WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump said he plans to make a “major statement” early next week on Russia as he escalates his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Russia’s recent wave of attacks on Ukraine.
“You’ll be seeing things happen,” Trump told reporters on July 11 when asked about Russia’s overnight drone attacks on Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, that damaged a maternity hospital.
Trump on Thursday told NBC News that he’s “disappointed in Russia” as he addressed the status of the Russia-Ukraine war, which has raged for more than three years. He added, “But we’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks.”
“I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” Trump said, declining to elaborate.
More: Trump escalates criticism of Putin, rearms Ukraine, as Russia’s war plows on
Trump on Wednesday gave his bluntest assessment yet of Putin. “We get a lot of bulls–t thrown at us from Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting. “He’s very nice all the time but it turns out to be meaningless.”
“We’re not happy with Putin, I’m not happy with Putin, I can tell you that much right now. Because he’s killing a lot of people. And a lot of them are his soldiers,” Trump said.
Unmoved by Trump’s criticism, Russia on Thursday launched a new wave of attacks that targeted Kyiv with some 400 drones and missiles.
Earlier in the week, Trump overturned a Pentagon decision to withhold some weapons shipments to Ukraine.
More: Trump rips Putin, says Russian leader ‘killing a lot of people’ in Ukraine
Trump discussed details of the weapons arrangement with NBC. “We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100%. So what we’re doing is the weapons that are going out are going to NATO, and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons [to Ukraine], and NATO is paying for those weapons.”
More: ‘We have to’: Trump sending weapons to Ukraine after expressing disappointment with Putin
Trump has long said he is considering imposing new sanctions on Russia but has held off on taking action. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, a Trump ally, is pushing legislation that would target Russia with substantial new sanctions.
Since returning to the White House in January for his second term, Trump has pinned equal blame on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for prolonging a war started by Russia. But in recent weeks, Trump has expressed impatience with Putin as U.S. efforts to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal haven’t gained traction.
Trump said in late May that Putin was “playing with fire” and had gone “absolutely crazy,” as he speculated that Russia wants to lay claim to all of Ukraine. The next month he said the war had been “more difficult” to resolve than other conflicts and called Putin “misguided.”
Contributing: Francesca Chambers of USA TODAY
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump teases ‘major statement’ on Russia amid new attacks on Ukraine
