President Trump turned up the heat on Vladimir Putin on Thursday, saying he is “not happy” after Russia launched a deadly strike at Kyiv amid America’s effort to broker a peace deal and end the war in Ukraine. 

In a post on Truth Social with rare ire directed at the Russian president, Mr. Trump wrote, “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”

At the White House later Thursday, a reporter asked Mr. Trump if he believed Mr. Putin would listen to him and the president responded, “I do.”

The uncommon public criticism of Mr. Putin comes as Mr. Trump has directed much of his anger at President Zelensky since taking office. In February, he claimed that Ukraine started the war, while it was Russia that launched an unprovoked invasion. During an Oval Office meeting with Mr. Zelensky, Mr. Trump told Ukraine to “make a deal, or we’re out. And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”

Mr. Trump’s rebuke comes after Russia launched 70 missiles and 145 drones toward Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s emergency services, the missiles struck 13 locations in Kyiv, including residential buildings. The attack killed eight people and injured more than 60.

The attack marked the deadliest strike on Kyiv since July 2024, when 33 people were killed. It occurred as Mr. Trump’s administration has been working to secure a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. 

Mr. Zelenksy said the attack was “first and foremost” about applying pressure on America. 

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Zelensky, writing on Truth Social, “Kyiv can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.”

That post followed Mr. Zelensky’s comment that Ukraine would “not legally recognize [Russian] occupation of Crimea,” which is a condition of a potential deal.

The American president said, “It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War.”

While Mr. Trump criticized the Obama administration for its handling of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, an American peace proposal reportedly includes a break from long-standing American foreign policy and would recognize Crimea as part of Russia.

In his post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Mr. Trump did not criticize Mr. Putin. He insisted he has “nothing to do with Russia” but has “much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever.”

Mr. Trump’s post on Thursday comes as members of his administration are reportedly divided over how tough they should be on Russia. 

The White House special envoy and long-time friend of the president, Steve Witkoff, has been advocating for America to lift sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to help end the war in Ukraine, according to Politico. However, Secretary of State Rubio and the Interior secretary, Doug Burgum, are reportedly against the idea.

Messrs. Witkoff and Rubio denied that members of the administration have had discussions about lifting the sanctions, saying in a joint statement to Politico, “This is false. Neither of us have had any conversations about lifting sanctions on Russia as part of a peace deal with Ukraine.”

Mr. Trump warned last week that America may be prepared to walk away from its efforts to negotiate a peace deal if “horrible” and “foolish” people make it “difficult.”