Trump says he is not happy with deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv

By Faith Barbara N Ruhinda updated at 1712 EAT on Thursday 24 April 2025

This is not the first time that President Trump has issued a verbal warning to President Putin. He previously threatened secondary sanctions in his rush to secure an end to the war in Ukraine.

Yet the prevailing wind that comes from the White House blows in Moscow’s favour. The Trump administration’s apparent eagerness to blame Ukraine more than Russia for both causing and prolonging the war could have some dangerous consequences for Kyiv.

If the US walks away from peace talks then it is highly likely it will curtail or even cut off military aid and intelligence. Ukraine will fight on, with help from its allies in Europe, but now with one hand tied behind its back.

And things could get worse still for Kyiv. Trump wants a deal with Putin. He wants sanctions on Russia lifted and to see US companies back in Moscow and doing business. Far from starving the Kremlin’s war machine, this would help empower it to redouble its assaults on Ukraine.

All is not yet lost though. Team Trump would still prefer to see this war stop than admit that their efforts have ended in failure. Ukraine wants it to end, the US wants it to end, but the big unknown is whether that’s also true of Vladimir Putin.

Writing on his Truth Social account at just before 08:30 local time in Washington DC, Trump said the deadly strikes on Kyiv were not necessary, and very bad timing.

“Vladimir, STOP!” he concluded. “5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE.”

The blunt message comes just hours after Trump criticised the Ukrainian president on the same platform.

Trump’s message to Putin is a relatively rare condemnation of the near-daily Russian strikes on Ukraine – and a sign of his frustration.

The US president promised to resolve the Ukraine war on “day one” of his presidency, and the 100th day comes later this month.

As the deadly overnight strikes on Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine show, there is no end to the war in sight.

Let’s turn our attention back to Crimea now, which has been a point of contention in peace talks for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The peninsula stretches out from the south of Ukraine, between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and is separated from Russia to the east by the narrow Kerch Strait.

Crimea was given to Ukraine, in 1954, by the so-called presidium of the Supreme Soviet. When Ukraine became independent in 1991, Russian President Boris Yeltsin agreed that Crimea could remain in Ukraine and that Russia would retain a major naval base there.

A 2001 census showed that the population was made up of 58% Russians.

In 2014, Russian troops seized Crimea and illegally annexed it. The UN Charter, however, sets out that borders cannot be changed by using force.

Internationally, Crimea is still considered part of Ukraine and Zelensky has repeatedly rejected the idea of recognising it as Russian. “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution,” he said previously.

On Wednesday, Trump criticised this stance, saying it was “very harmful” to peace talks. Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago? Trump wrote on social media.

The statement made by Zelenskyy today will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field’ and nobody wants that! We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE,” Trump continued.

The Russian defence ministry claims those strikes targeted aviation, rocket and space, machine-building and tank industry companies in Ukraine, companies producing rocket fuel and gunpowder.

Following Keir Starmer’s comments outlined in our earlier post, Downing Street has set out its position on Crimea a southern peninsula in Ukraine illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

This comes after Donald Trump appears to have criticised Zelensky for refusing to recognise Russian control of Crimea during peace talks.

We’ve just heard from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who says last night’s strikes on Kyiv are a real reminder that Russia is the aggressor here.

He adds that the attacks – which have so far injured at least 77 show why it is important to get Russia to an unconditional ceasefire.

Starmer’s comments come a day after diplomats met in London to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Following the talks he says: “We’re making progress towards a ceasefire, it’s got to be a lasting ceasefire.”

There was some hope before today’s meeting that South Africa would extend a symbolic gesture to Ukraine, like inviting it to the G20 summit later this year, which South Africa is hosting.

Some analysts believed it would be a sign of further rapprochement between the two countries, but that invitation never came.

The fact that Zelensky is on South African soil may be seen by some to be a good enough sign of thawing relations between the two countries, given South Africa and other African nations have refused to take sides in the war.

Instead, President Ramaphosa reiterated his country’s commitment to speaking to all parties in the conflict and its expertise in negotiating settlements, following the end of the apartheid regime. Ramaphosa also wouldn’t be drawn on whether Ukraine should secede territory to Russia.

He also claimed a call he had with President Trump yesterday wasn’t tied to Zelensky’s visit, adding that the call had been months in the planning.

For his part, Zelensky was also unwilling to depart from his red lines, reiterating that there could be no talk of compromise without a complete ceasefire, and that the fact that Ukraine was willing to sit at the negotiating table when it was Russia that started the war,

Invest or Donate towards HICGI New Agency Global Media Establishment – Watch video here