Vladimir, STOP!’: Trump tells Putin after deadly Kyiv strike

Donald Trump called Thursday on Vladimir Putin to halt attacks on Ukraine, in a rare rebuke of the Russian leader after Moscow fired missiles and drones at Kyiv in the deadliest attack on the capital in months.

The US president’s direct appeal to Putin came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his allies to put Russia under more pressure to halt its invasion.

Zelensky cut short a trip to South Africa to deal with the aftermath of the strikes, the latest in a wave of Russian aerial attacks that have killed dozens of civilians.

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes,” Trump said on social media. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!”

Trump, who is accused of favoring Russia and has often vilified Zelensky, was asked by reporters what concessions Moscow had offered in negotiations to end the war.

“Stopping taking the whole country — pretty big concession,” he replied.

Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, hoping to take the country in days, but has since been bogged down in a bloody war with huge casualties on both sides.

Trump on Wednesday accused Zelensky of frustrating peace efforts by ruling out recognizing Russia’s claim over Crimea, a territory the US president said was “lost years ago.”

In contrast, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Thursday it was Russia, not Ukraine, that needed to move forward in negotiations.

“The balls are clearly in the Russian court now,” Rutte told reporters at the White House after meeting Trump.

Ceasefire deal –

Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is due in Russia this week where he is expected to hold another round of ceasefire talks with Putin.

Ukraine has been battered by aerial attacks throughout Russia’s three-year invasion but strikes on Kyiv, better protected by air defenses than other cities, are less common.

Zelensky said Russia used a North Korean ballistic missile in the strikes, which killed at least 12.

The assault threw more doubt on US efforts to push Russia and Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire, after Trump lashed out at Zelensky this week for not being willing to accept Russian occupation of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014.

“We do everything that our partners have proposed, only what contradicts our legislation and the Constitution we cannot do,” Zelensky said in response to a question about Crime