President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Russian military progress in Ukraine during remarks to journalists at the White House, stating that Moscow’s extensive bombing campaigns have yielded minimal territorial gains while damaging Russia’s international standing.
“I’m very dissatisfied with what Russia is doing and what President Putin is doing. I haven’t liked it at all. He’s killing people for no reason whatsoever. And they are doing very poorly considering they have put it all out on the line. Their economy is going to hell,” Trump told reporters.
The president highlighted the disparity between Russia’s destructive capabilities and its territorial achievements. He said that despite massive strikes on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure, Moscow has captured little ground in recent months.
“They’re bombing the hell out of everything and they’re picking up very little territory if any. In fact, they’re losing some territory. So, I think it’s been very bad for the reputation of Russia,” Trump said.
According to the president, the conflict has now entered its fourth year with Russia failing to achieve decisive results despite deploying significant military resources. Trump characterized Russia’s performance as disappointing given the scale of bombardments, including drone attacks on major Ukrainian cities.
“You see what they’ve taken now. The last month they’ve taken very little. And you’ve been reporting on all the bombing, all the drones all over the place. Nine hundred drones coming into certain areas like Kyiv in one night. And with all of that work, they’ve taken over very little. So, I’m very disappointed in President Putin,” the president stated.
Trump maintained that “this war should have ended already” and suggested that if the United States were conducting such operations, he would have concluded them “in a week.”
The remarks represent a continuation of Trump’s recent positioning on the Ukraine war. On 23 September, the president made unexpectedly optimistic statements about Ukraine’s chances of regaining control over its internationally recognized borders, which French President Emmanuel Macron described as “a very clear signal” and evidence of Trump’s “new vision” regarding Ukraine.
However, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged closer examination of Trump’s statements, suggesting that “beneath this unexpected optimism lies a warning of diminished US involvement and a transfer of responsibility for ending the war to Europe.”