‘Vladimir Putin wants to keep killing people’: 'Unhappy’ Donald Trump hints at sanctions

Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday that he was very unhappy with the call with his Russian counterpart.

Updated on: Jul 5, 2025, 20:21:45 IST

By HT News Desk

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US President Donald Trump has said Vladimir Putin just wants to "keep killing people" in Ukraine as he voiced frustration over the Russian president's failure to end the fighting.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump during a bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. (Reuters)

Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday that he was “very unhappy” with the call with his Russian counterpart.

"It’s a very tough situation... I was very unhappy with my call with President Putin. He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people - it’s no good," news agency Reuters quoted Trump as saying.

The US president also hinted at sanctions against Russia after Moscow launched its largest-ever drone and missile attack on Ukraine.

Trump told the reporters that he and Putin talked about sanctions “a lot" during their phone call. “He understands that they may be coming,” he said.

The US president also spoke about his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying his country would need Patriot missiles for its defences.

"They're going to need them for defense... They're going to need something because they're being hit pretty hard."

Also Read | Germany considering buying US air defence systems for Ukraine

According to Reuters, Ukraine has been asking Washington to sell it more Patriot missiles and systems that it sees as key to defending its cities from intensifying Russian air strikes.

Russia's largest missile and drone attack on Kyiv

Russia on Friday targeted Kyiv in the largest aerial assault since the invasion of Ukraine began three years ago.

According to the Associated Press, waves of drones and missiles targeted Kyiv overnight. One person was killed and at least 26 others, including a child, were wounded in the attack.

Also Read | ‘Russia will not give up on its aims in Ukraine’: Putin tells Trump in hour-long call

In a post on Telegram, Zelenskyy said that air alerts began echoing out across the country even as the phone call between Trump and Putin was underway.

"Yet again, Russia is showing it has no intention of ending the war and terror," he wrote on social media.

(Inputs from agencies)

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