Trump says he’s ‘not thrilled’ with Putin over war in Ukraine

PALM BEACH - US President Donald Trump said on Jan 3 he was frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the continued war in Ukraine, repeating that he had initially believed that ending the war would be easy.

“I’m not thrilled with Putin. He’s killing too many people,” Mr Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, during a press conference to discuss the overnight US military operation in Venezuela and capture of its President Nicolas Maduro.

Mr Trump said he did not discuss Mr Maduro with Mr Putin when the two leaders spoke by telephone for more than two hours on Dec 29, shortly before the US President met Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Palm Beach.

“We never spoke about Maduro,” Mr Trump said when asked if he and Mr Putin had discussed the Venezuelan leader.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Jan 3 that it was extremely concerned by reports that

Mr Maduro and his wife had been removed from the country

during “aggressive actions” by the US, and called for the pair’s immediate release.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that Mr Maduro had rejected multiple chances to flee the country, and some reports suggested weeks ago that he could have headed to Russia or closely allied states.

Mr Trump on Dec 29 initially expressed sympathy for Russian allegations that Ukrainian drones attacked one of Mr Putin’s residences. He later appeared more sceptical and shared a New York Post editorial accusing Russia of blocking peace in Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal later reported that US national security officials found that Ukraine did not target Mr Putin or one of his residences in a drone strike.

Mr Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration about the lack of progress towards ending the war in Ukraine, which

began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022,

focusing heavily on what he calls tens of thousands of troops being killed on both sides. REUTERS