WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump expressed displeasure Thursday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as the Kremlin escalates its war on neighboring Ukraine.
Trump reiterated his belief that the war would have been the "easiest" to resolve after he assumed office in January, "because of my relationship with President Putin, but he's let me down."
"He's really let me down. Was going to be Russia and Ukraine, but we'll see how that turns out. But that turned out to be -- I thought it might be among the easiest of the group, but we settled just about every conflict," Trump told reporters at a news conference with British Premier Keir Starmer, referring to “seven” conflicts he said the US has solved during his second term.
The comments come after Trump hosted Putin for an historic summit in the US state of Alaska on Aug. 15 that was intended to build diplomatic momentum toward ending the Kremlin's war in Ukraine. A sit-down between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that was to transpire following the meeting, however, has failed to materialize in the month since the sit-down.
Russia had for weeks ruled the meeting out, saying conditions were not ripe for the face-to-face, before offering to host Zelenskyy in Moscow. Kyiv has maintained that the location is a non-starter due to security concerns, instead proposing that the meeting take place in a neutral third country.
Starmer said he and Trump discussed "how we can build our defenses to further support Ukraine, and decisively increase the pressure on Putin to get him to agree a peace deal that will last." He maintained that he believes Putin cannot be trusted.
"We are making sure that Ukraine is in the strongest position. Now, because one of my long concerns here, has been that whilst we talk about a ceasefire, and we all want a ceasefire, and we talk about what might happen after, we mustn't forget that Ukraine needs our support," he said. "Given previous history, I don't trust Putin."
Putin announced earlier Thursday that there are more than 700,000 Russians fighting in Ukraine. He said victory in Ukraine is a "key task" for Russia.
Zelenskyy separately said Ukrainian forces are conducting a counteroffensive in the eastern Donetsk region, claiming 100 Russian soldiers have so far been captured.
In a video address on Telegram during a visit to the region, Zelenskyy said that “fierce clashes” are taking place as part of the “counteroffensive operation” near the settlements of Pokrovsk and Dobropillia, two key fronts in the region.
Zelenskyy did not specify when the counteroffensive began, but said Ukrainian forces have managed to inflict “significant losses” on the Russian military and prevented them from an offensive in the area.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces retook control of 160 square kilometers (61 square miles) and seven settlements since the start of the counteroffensive, as well as “cleared” over 170 square kilometers and nine settlements from Russian presence.