# Trump says Putin launching massive strike on Ukraine is ‘what anybody would do’



Trump says Putin launching massive strike on Ukraine is ‘what anybody would do’ – video

US president says he finds Russia easier to deal with than Ukraine after cutting off intelligence and weapons to Kyiv.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday Trump said he finds it ‘easier’ to work with Russia than Ukraine and that Putin ‘wants to end the war’.

“I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine. And they don’t have the cards,” Trump said. “In terms of getting a final settlement, it may be easier dealing with .

Asked whether the Russian leader was taking advantage of the pause in US intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine, Trump replied: “I actually think he is doing what anybody else would do.”

Senior US and Ukrainian officials plan to meet in Saudi Arabia next week as  and his advisers seek to revive relations with the US after a botched summit in the Oval Office during which Trump told Zelenskyy he was “gambling with world war three”.

Russia launched a massive  on Ukrainian energy facilities on Friday in the wake of the US decision to halt intelligence sharing with Ukraine that had helped it target incoming fire.

Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said: “We’re doing very well with Russia. But right now they’re bombing the hell out of Ukraine.”

He added: “I think he  wants to get it stopped and settled and I think he’s hitting them harder than he’s been hitting them and I think probably anybody in that position would be doing that right now.”

In his remarks, Trump once again said he had good relations with Putin, despite the fallout from his first term when suspicions of backroom deals between the two leaders led to political scandal.

“Despite the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax I’ve always had a good relationship with Putin,” Trump said. “He wants to end the war. And I think he’s going to be more generous than he has to be.”

Earlier on Friday Trump had threatened new sanctions and tariffs on Russia in response to Russia’s latest attack.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale banking sanctions, sanctions, and tariffs on Russia until a cease fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED.

“To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!”

Trump’s vague threat was in contrast to the punitive steps he has already taken against Ukraine, including an  announced earlier this week and the intelligence shutdown.

On Friday the US aerospace company Maxar Technologies disabled Ukraine’s access to its satellite images after a request from the .

There were reports that Ukraine’s position on the battlefield had worsened as a direct result of hostile US actions. One source said Ukraine’s drones – used extensively across a 620-mile (1,000km) frontline – were “10-15% less accurate” than before.

According to Ukrainian media, North Korean troops have  in Russia’s Kursk oblast, where Ukrainian combat groups seized territory seven months ago. The North Koreans broke through Ukrainian defences south of the Kyiv-held Russian town of Sudzha, cutting off a key road, .

Ukrainian troops are now at risk of being encircled, they added. One soldier fighting in the area said the road connecting the enclave with the Ukrainian city of Sumy was still open but under constant attack from Russian drones. “The situation is bad,” he messaged.

 Moscow launched overnight attacks on Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure. It targeted facilities in several regions on Friday, including Odesa and Poltava, using nearly 70 cruise and ballistic missiles and almost 200 attack drones.

“All of this was directed against infrastructure that ensures normal life,” Zelenskyy . “Currently, repair and restoration work is ongoing.” He said several people were injured when a missile hit a private building in Kharkiv.

Zelenskyy is due to travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet Crown Prince . “After that, my team will stay in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners,” he wrote. “Ukraine is most interested in peace. As we told Potus , Ukraine is working and will continue to work constructively for a swift and reliable peace.”

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, are expected to hold talks with Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy’s office, and Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov.

The Trump administration has piled further pressure on Ukraine amid apparent US attempts . “I think Ukraine wants to make a deal because they don’t have a choice,” Trump said on Thursday. “I also think that Russia wants to make a deal because in a certain different way – a different way that only I know – they have no choice either.”

In the face of escalating US hostility, Zelenskyy has set out a tentative ceasefire plan. On Friday he suggested a ban on the use of “missiles, long-range drones and aerial bombs” as well as a suspension of military operations in the Black Sea.

“Ukraine is ready to pursue the path to peace and it is Ukraine that strives for peace from the very first second of this war. The task is to force Russia to stop the war,” he posted on X.

Since US and Russian negotiators met in Saudi Arabia last month, the Kremlin has dramatically stepped up its air war against Ukraine. Its advance on land in the eastern Donetsk region has largely stopped, with Ukraine’s armed forces carrying out counteroffensives in some areas.

An overnight strike in Kharkiv injured eight people and damaged nine residential buildings, officials said. An adult and a child were injured in Poltava oblast when a missile hit two housing blocks, the energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, said.

Despite the US weapons cut-off, Ukraine is still able to shoot down some – but not all – enemy missiles. On Friday, Zelenskyy said French-supplied Mirage 2000 aircraft were used for the first time together with F-16 fighter jets to protect Ukrainian skies.

He said: “The Mirages successfully intercepted Russian cruise missiles. Thank you! I also want to recognise the performance of our anti-aircraft missile forces, army aviation, all our electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups.”

The Kremlin, meanwhile, said Russia may have to respond to what it said were EU plans to boost its military capability and cast Russia as its enemy. The comments were made after Thursday’s meeting in Brussels, in which EU leaders agreed a plan for a .

“We see that the European Union is now actively discussing the militarisation of the EU and the development of the defence segment. This is a process that we are watching closely, because the EU is positioning Russia as its main adversary,” the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
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