President Donald Trump has issued a fiery condemnation of Vladimir Putin following Russia’s relentless attacks on Ukraine — despite repeated warnings from the U.S. leader.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday (July 8), Trump did not mince words when addressing the ongoing war in Ukraine. “Putin is killing a lot of people,” he said, referring to the intensified Russian assaults on Ukrainian forces. He questioned whether the Russian president had any real interest in ending the conflict diplomatically.
“We get a lot of bulls**t from Putin. He’s always polite, always smiling — but it means nothing,” Trump stated bluntly.
The remarks come just weeks after a failed round of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Turkey, which ended without agreement on a ceasefire or even a temporary truce.
But Trump’s warning hasn’t deterred the Kremlin. Just hours after his statement, Russia launched a brutal 10-hour overnight barrage of missiles and drones targeting Ukraine. The western cities of Lutsk and Ternopil were among the worst hit, raising new alarm bells across the region.
Poland, a NATO member sharing a border with western Ukraine, responded immediately. Its armed forces issued a statement saying Polish and allied aircraft had been deployed in national airspace as a defensive measure.
“This attack on Ukraine by the Russian Federation triggered our operational protocols,” Warsaw’s military command announced, highlighting growing regional tensions.
Adding another layer of drama to the escalating crisis, Trump’s past warning to Putin — allegedly made before his return to the presidency — has resurfaced.
According to CNN, at a private fundraiser earlier this year, Trump recalled a direct exchange with the Russian leader: “I told Putin, ‘If you invade Ukraine, I’m going to bomb the sh*t out of Moscow.’ I said it flat out. I had no choice.”
He claimed Putin didn’t believe him — “But maybe 10% of him did.”
The Kremlin was quick to reject Trump’s assertion. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, denied any such conversation took place, noting that Trump was not in office at the time he claims the warning was made.
“There were no calls. There was no dialogue of that nature,” Peskov said. “This alleged quote refers to a time when Mr. Trump was not president.”
As Russia’s war machine rolls on and Western leaders weigh their next moves, Trump’s blunt rhetoric once again underscores the growing global pressure to stop the bloodshed — before it spirals even further.