‘He’s very nice all the time, but…’: Frustrated Trump directs his ire at Putin

US President Donald Trump, frustrated at the stalemate with Russia, is considering additional sanctions on Moscow. He also criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin and said he was not very happy with him now. This comes as Trump approved sending US defensive weapons to Ukraine amid a growing death toll in the Ukraine-Russia war.

As a presidential candidate, the self-declared global peacemaker had promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war “within a day” but now as the President has not been able to follow through on that promise. 

"I'm not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now…We get a lot of bullsh*t thrown at us by Putin ... He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless," Trump said. 

Trump also said he was considering whether to support a bill that would impose steep sanctions on Russia. "I'm looking at it very strongly," he said.

The bill also proposes penalties for countries trading with Moscow. It includes 500% tariffs on nations importing Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other exports.

Meanwhile, Trump announced on Monday that the US would send more weapons to Ukraine, mainly defensive ones, to support its defence against Russian advances. On Tuesday, he confirmed that he had approved the move. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that he had ordered an expansion of contacts with the US to secure critical military supplies, focusing on air defence. He emphasised the need to implement political decisions quickly to protect people and positions. "These are critical deliveries that mean saving lives and protecting Ukrainian cities and villages. I expect results from these contacts very soon. And this week, we are preparing formats for meetings of our military and political teams," Zelenskyy added.

Zelenskiy has repeatedly called on Western allies to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow to push the Kremlin towards a ceasefire and an end to the war, which has lasted 40 months.