US President Donald Trump said Sunday, March 30, he was "very angry, pissed off" with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, NBC reported, marking a sharp change of tone as Washington seeks to end the war in Ukraine. NBC's Kristen Welker said Trump had called her to express his fury over Putin questioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's future as a leader – something that Trump himself has done.
Welker, on her NBC show Meet The Press on Sunday, quoted directly from an early-morning telephone conversation with the president. "If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia's fault... I am going to put secondary tariffs on all oil coming out of Russia," Trump said.
Trump also told Welker that he "was very angry, pissed off" over Putin's recent comments about Zelensky's credibility and talking about new leadership in Ukraine.
The US president has been pushing for a speedy end to the more than three-year war since taking office, but his administration has failed to reach a breakthrough despite negotiations with both sides. Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian plan for a 30-day ceasefire, and on Friday suggested Zelensky 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."
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.