”I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing. I think, for that war to have started, is an abuse of power. This country would have never allowed that war to have started if I were president. That war is a shame,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Asked to clarify what he meant by Russia making a “mistake,” Trump said, “They made a mistake. I believe it was — look, you’re gonna ask them.”
Punting to familiar criticisms of former President Joe Biden, Trump added: “Remember this: This is Biden’s war. I’m just trying to get it stopped so that we can save a lot of lives.”
Russian missiles hit residents gathering for Sunday church services in the northeastern city of Sumy, killing at least 34 people in the deadliest attack of the conflict this year. Two children were among the scores of people killed in the strikes, while 117 people were wounded, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.
Trump also stated he met Sunday with his special envoy Steve Witkoff, who recently met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“He had good meetings having to do with Russia-Ukraine,” Trump stated.
The US special presidential envoy for Ukraine also said Russia’s deadliest attack on the country this year highlights “why President Trump is working hard to end this war.”
“Today’s Palm Sunday attack by Russian forces on civilian targets in Sumy crosses any line of decency,” Keith Kellogg wrote on X.
“As a former military leader, I understand targeting and this is wrong. It is why President Trump is working hard to end this war,” he added.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also described the strikes as “horrifying” in a statement that echoed Kellogg’s comments about the US efforts to resolve the war.
In recent months, the relationship between the US and Ukraine has stood on wobbly footing as President Donald Trump has tried to broker a minerals deal and ceasefire agreement in the region.
Trump temporarily withheld military aid and paused intelligence sharing after a spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February over the minerals deal. But both were reinstated shortly after Ukraine agreed in principle to a US ceasefire proposal.
President Putin did not accept that US-proposed ceasefire deal, however, and Trump on Friday urged Moscow to “get moving” on ending the war.
“Too many people are DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war – A war that should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened, if I were President!!!” Trump wrote.
