Trump lashes out at Putin over latest Ukraine attack: "He's completely lost his mind."

WashingtonDonald Trump once again criticizes Vladimir Putin amid the new wave of Russian attacks in Ukraine. "He's gone completely crazy," the US president wrote about his Russian counterpart on Truth Social. following the massive airstrike Moscow launched on Ukraine on Sunday"It's killing a lot of people unnecessarily, and I'm not just talking about soldiers," he added. Trump was attacking Putin just six days after calling him and Volodymyr Zelensky, assuring that "Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin ceasefire negotiations."

Once again, Putin questioned the president's words when Moscow fired some 70 missiles and 300 drones at the neighboring country on Saturday night. The offensive left at least 12 people dead, including three children, and around 80 wounded. The large number of projectiles fired by Russia made it impossible for Ukraine's overwhelmed air defenses to intercept them all. "They are firing missiles and drones at cities in Ukraine for no reason," Trump wrote.

Last Monday, Trump spoke with Putin for more than two hours about the situation in the Ukrainian conflict. It was the third time the two leaders had called each other since the Republican returned to the White House in January. Once again, the US president welcomed the call and reiterated that both sides would begin negotiations to reach an agreement. Ukraine has long expressed openness to a 30-day truce, while Russia has consistently refused. Still, Washington's signs of weariness regarding the peace talks are directed more at Kiev than Moscow. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance have threatened the possibility of the United States abandoning its supposed mediator role if results are not achieved soon.

Trump's failure?

It's been more than four months since Trump took office, and there has still been no significant progress toward a ceasefire. The US president—through blackmail and pressure—managed to get Zelensky to accept a minimal truce agreed upon with Putin to halt attacks on energy infrastructure as winter drew to a close. However, shortly after signing a pact that clearly came at a very low cost to Moscow and even gave it more time to delay the negotiation process, Russia struck again and broke the deal.

The message criticizing Putin follows the same dynamic as the other post from late April, where Trump claimed a "Vladimir, STOP!" after a wave of attacks on Kiev. Now he's gone a step further with his words. "I don't know what's wrong with him. What the hell is wrong with him? He's killing a lot of people. I don't like that," he had said in a previous statement from the New Jersey airport, from where he opened the door to imposing new sanctions on Russia, as Ukraine is requesting: "Of course," he said when asked. The tycoon's reaction also denotes the weariness that Washington wants to convey to both countries at war.

"I've always said that [Putin] wants all of Ukraine, not just part of it, and maybe he's right, but if he does that, it will bring about the fall of Russia!" Trump also stressed on social media. "I like it, and he better stop [talking]," he said. Once again, Trump is balancing to indirectly show Russia his rapprochement.

The Republican leader has insisted, however, that this "is a war that would not have started" if he had been the president. "This is war. Helping to put out the great and horrible fires that have been started because of incompetence and hatred," the US president declared.

The Kremlin played down Trump's words on Monday. "We are very grateful to the American people and to President Trump, especially, for their support. "It's crucial and it has to do with the mental strain that these emotional reactions have on absolutely everyone," said Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.

The Kremlin wants to seize the moment.

Saturday's attacks came after Moscow and Kyiv held direct talks in Istanbul last Friday, the first in three years, in which they agreedthe largest exchange of prisoners of warBetween the two countries, a thousand prisoners per side. However, Russia is not letting up, exposing Trump, who had promised to end the conflict within a few weeks of returning to the White House.

Sunday's attack confirms a dynamic: in recent months, and now with Trump as president, the Russian military has not eased up on airstrikes against Ukraine. Recently, in fact, the pace has intensified. Putin is convinced that time is on his side and believes now is a good time to step on the gas: several Western voices warn that Kiev is running out of weapons and ammunition.

Last week, moreover, a report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) highlighted that Russia plans to continue the fighting in Ukraine throughout this year. Analysts, and the Ukrainian government, assume that in the coming months, Moscow, which has long held the initiative on the battlefield, will attempt to launch a new offensive to conquer more territory. Putin has shown that he does not mind taking heavy casualties in exchange for gaining inches of Ukrainian territory.

In this regard, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated on Monday that Putin's failure to react to the offer of Vatican-mediated talks with Ukraine is an indication that the war in that country will last much longer than expected. French President Emmanuel Macron also made similar statements on Monday. Speaking to the media from Hanoi, where he began his tour of Southeast Asia, the French leader said that "Trump realized that Putin lied to him and that Putin is not ready for peace."

Russia attacked Ukraine for the third consecutive night early Monday morning, Ukrainian emergency services reported. The airstrike alert lasted six hours in Kiev, according to Timur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration. The surrounding region of Kiev was subjected to a combined drone and missile attack, according to Reuters. Russian drone attacks caused fires and destruction to private homes in the southern Odessa region.

At the same time, Ukraine also launched some attacks on Russian territory on Monday. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its air defense systems had shot down 96 Ukrainian drones, including six over the Moscow region. Moscow's Domodedovo and Khukovskiy airports have temporarily halted flights, according to Rosaviatsia, Russia's aviation watchdog.