After Russia’s largest drone and missile strike on Ukraine, Trump condemns Putin’s actions and warns of harsher sanctions

In an unusually direct rebuke of a world leader he once praised, US President Donald Trump has lashed out at Vladimir Putin after Russia launched its most intense aerial assault on Ukraine since the war began. Speaking late Sunday in New Jersey, Trump declared: “What the hell happened to him? He’s killing a lot of people,” adding shortly after, “Putin has gone absolutely crazy.”

The comments followed a harrowing night in Ukraine, where Russian forces launched a record 367 drones and missiles, killing at least 12 civilians and injuring dozens more. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier warned that the West’s subdued response to repeated Russian attacks was only emboldening Moscow, and called for urgent pressure in the form of tighter sanctions.

Air raid sirens blared across Ukraine into Monday morning as emergency workers responded to multiple hits in civilian areas. In Kharkiv, three people, including a child, were reported injured, while two others were wounded in Zaporizhzhia. Kyiv officials shared photos showing rubble and shattered homes in the capital’s outskirts.

Meanwhile, Moscow claimed its air defences intercepted two Ukrainian drones headed towards the city. No damage or injuries were reported.

Trump, who has previously been accused of being soft on Russia, appeared visibly shaken by the scale of the attack. “I’ve known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.

When asked whether the US would respond with new sanctions, Trump confirmed: “Absolutely.” Although his administration has repeatedly floated the possibility, no new measures have yet been imposed. His comments mark a rare moment of alignment with Kyiv’s Western allies, many of whom are preparing a new sanctions package.

Still, Trump didn’t hold back criticism of Ukraine’s president either. In a post on Truth Social, he accused Zelensky of damaging his own country’s interests through aggressive public messaging. “Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop,” Trump wrote, adding that Zelensky “is doing his country no favours by talking the way he does.”

Despite his criticism, Trump insisted he remains committed to ending the war. Just days earlier, he held a two-hour phone call with Putin to discuss a proposed US-brokered ceasefire. Trump said the conversation had gone “very well,” and predicted that peace negotiations would “immediately start.”

Ukraine has publicly agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, but Russia has only offered vague promises to pursue a “memorandum” on a future peace plan. Kyiv and its allies have dismissed this as another delay tactic.

The meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegates in Istanbul earlier this month — their first direct talks since 2022 — yielded no significant progress. A prisoner swap last week remains the only concrete outcome.

Currently, Russia occupies around 20% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. The war shows no sign of ending, and Sunday night’s bombardment has heightened fears of further escalation.

Trump’s forceful comments signal a shift in tone. While he remains highly critical of Western military spending in Ukraine, his denunciation of Putin’s actions suggests mounting pressure to respond more decisively as the conflict intensifies. Whether that translates into action from the US remains to be seen.