Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian plan for a 30-day ceasefire, and on Friday suggested Zelenskyy be removed from office as part of the peace process.
Trump told NBC that Putin knows he is angry, but said that he has “a very good relationship with him” and “the anger dissipates quickly … if he does the right thing”.
RUSSIA BOLSTERED
Warming ties between Washington and Moscow since Trump’s return to office and his threats to stop supporting Kyiv have bolstered Russia on the battlefield as it pursues its floundering invasion.
Ukraine has accused Russia of dragging out talks with no intention of halting its offensive, with fresh attacks on the northeastern border city of Kharkiv.
Six strikes hit overnight Saturday into Sunday, wounding personnel undergoing treatment at a military hospital and killing at least two people in a residential building, according to Ukrainian officials.
Russian forces also captured a village just 7km from the border of Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region in their latest advance, Moscow said Sunday.
The Kremlin’s troops have not crossed the boundary of the region since their offensive began in 2022, but they have been grinding towards it for months in the hope of a breakthrough.
