Trump Blasts “Insane” Putin, Warns of Russia’s Collapse if Ukraine War Escalates

President Donald Trump is confronting the ongoing Ukraine war head-on, issuing a blistering condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin for derailing peace efforts with renewed missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. Speaking with visible frustration after returning from West Point on Sunday evening, Trump made clear he is fed up with Putin’s aggression — and that Russia is on a path to ruin if it continues.

“He’s killing a lot of people,” Trump said bluntly on the White House airfield tarmac. “I don’t like it at all. We’re trying to talk, we’re trying to negotiate, and in the middle of it he’s launching rockets into Kyiv and other cities. I’m very surprised. We’ll see what we’re going to do.”

The president didn’t hold back, going so far as to question Putin’s state of mind. “I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin… something happened to this guy, and I don’t like it,” Trump said, adding in a later statement: “He has gone absolutely CRAZY!”

Trump’s fury followed a massive Russian drone and missile barrage that struck multiple Ukrainian cities over the weekend, killing civilians and further undermining the fragile state of diplomacy. While both sides had made symbolic gestures — including a large prisoner exchange — formal peace talks appear frozen. Russia recently said no new negotiations were scheduled.

President Trump, who has prioritized ending the conflict since returning to the Oval Office, warned that Putin’s attempt to fully conquer Ukraine — a goal that has eluded him for three bloody years — could backfire in catastrophic fashion. “If he keeps this up, it will lead to the downfall of Russia,” Trump declared. “Absolutely.”

The president also hinted that stronger retaliatory actions could be on the table, including new sanctions. “We’re looking at it, absolutely,” he said when asked if fresh penalties were coming. “He’s killing a lot of people.”

But Trump’s criticism wasn’t reserved for Moscow alone. In a pointed message to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said the Ukrainian leader’s combative public remarks were doing more harm than good.

“President Zelensky is doing his country no favors by talking the way he does,” Trump said. “Everything out of his mouth causes problems. I don’t like it — and it better stop.”

The rebuke signals Trump’s growing impatience with both sides as he works to restore stability and halt the bloodshed. A seasoned negotiator, Trump has made clear that a workable peace deal requires both leadership and discipline — and that irresponsible rhetoric from either party jeopardizes progress.

The latest strikes are just the newest chapter in a war that has dragged on far too long, with untold destruction and thousands dead. Putin’s scorched-earth tactics, combined with an uncompromising stance at the negotiating table, are increasingly drawing global condemnation — and now, for perhaps the first time in months, serious consequences from Washington may be imminent.

As President Trump put it: “We’re in the middle of talking, and he’s firing missiles. I don’t like it at all. And he’s going to find out why.”