Trump described the Russian deadly missiles strike on Sumy as horrific while Zelensky invited him to visit Ukraine to inspect the devastation
US President Donald Trump on Sunday described the strike that killed at least 34 people in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, as horrific.
“I think it’s a terrible thing,” the US president told reporters aboard Air Force One… “I’ve been told they made a mistake, but I think it’s a terrible thing”.
Asked about this mistake, Trump replied, “They made a mistake… You’ve to ask them about that,” without specifying who he was referring to.
Earlier, the White House announced that the strike in Sumy was a “stark reminder” of the need for negotiations to end “this terrible war”.
“Today’s missile attack on Sumy is a clear and stark reminder that President Donald Trump’s efforts to try to end this terrible war come at a crucial time,” National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement.
Neither Trump nor the US National Security Council blamed Russia for the missile strike, which sparked an angry international reaction.
In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to visit Ukraine to witness the devastation caused by the Russian aggression, in an interview broadcast Sunday by the US television network CBS.
Addressing the US president indirectly, Zelensky said, “We want you to come and see. You think you understand what’s going on here… Well, we respect your decision”.
“But please, before making any kind of decision, before any kind of negotiation, come and see the people, the civilians, the fighters, the hospitals, the churches, the children… Come and see, and then let’s move forward with a plan to end the war,” he added, saying the US president “will understand what Putin did”.
At a time when Trump’s patience with Putin, who hasn’t accepted his truce offer, appears to be running out, Zelensky declared that “Putin cannot be trusted”.
The Ukrainian president added, “I have told President Trump this on several occasions… Putin never wanted to stop the war. He never wanted us to be independent… Putin wants to destroy us completely”.
Asked about Trump’s remarks, in which he described his Ukrainian counterpart as a “dictator” and said that Kyiv had started the war, Zelensky expressed regret that “the Russian viewpoint is prevalent in the United States”.
He considered that “this is an indication of the enormous influence of Russian media policy in America”.
During the White House debate at the end of February, US Vice President Jay D. Vance accused Zelensky of organizing propaganda visits to Ukraine.
Zelensky again denied the accusation in his CBS interview, insisting that Trump’s visit would be unplanned.
“It won’t be staged… You can go anywhere you want, to any city that’s been attacked,” he said.
This interview was recorded in Kryvyi Rig, Zelensky’s hometown, where an airstrike killed 20 people, including nine children, in early April.
The Ukrainian president admitted that he has “100% hatred” for the Russian president.
“What else can we say about someone who comes here to kill people and our children?” he asked, stressing that “this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to stop the war as quickly as possible”.
