President Donald Trump accused Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday of spewing “bullsh**,” one day after Trump announced plans to send more weapons to Ukraine to help in its fight against the Kremlin.
“That was a war that should have never happened,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting in Washington, D.C., referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “A lot of people are dying and it should end.”
“We get a lot of bullsh** thrown at us by Putin if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” he added.
Trump also said he is “looking at” further sanctions against Russia.
The president’s latest comments come after Trump had a phone call with Putin in which the U.S president expressed frustration at the lack of progress toward a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine and said he was “not happy” with Putin.
Hours after that call, Putin launched 550 drones and missiles against Ukraine, in what was the largest single aerial bombardment since Russia’s invasion was launched in 2022.
“He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it’s no good,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, one day after the call.
Trump, on Monday, announced plans to send more weapons to Ukraine, backtracking on his administration’s earlier steps to pause military aid to the country.
The president told reporters during a White House dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nentanyahu that the U.S. is going to “send some more weapons. We have to.”
“They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now,” he added. “We’re going to have to send more weapons, defensive weapons, primarily. But they’re getting hit very, very hard. So many people are dying in that mess.”
On Monday, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed the U.S. would be sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine “to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops.”
Trump, meanwhile, said Friday that he is no longer sure that he can end Russia’s war against Ukraine, despite his repeated assurances to the contrary.
“I can’t tell you whether or not that’s going to happen,” Trump told reporters.
Trump’s recent comments represent a stark departure from the conciliatory tone he maintained toward Russia throughout the first half of the year. In his first months in office, Trump repeatedly blamed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for the ongoing death and destruction, even going so far as to accuse Ukraine of having started the conflict.
The administration’s hostility toward Ukraine boiled over in a now infamous Oval Office meeting with Zelensky, in which Vice President JD Vance badgered the war-time leader for allegedly not expressing gratitude for U.S. military aid.