President Donald Trump stepped up his criticism of President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Tuesday, accusing him of duplicity a day after saying that Ukraine needed more weapons to defend itself against Russian’s invasion.“We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told reporters during a cabinet meeting. “He’s very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”The harsh rhetoric was notable for Trump, who has often expressed skepticism of US aid to Ukraine and admiration for Putin’s intelligence and strength. Just months ago, Trump dressed down President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in the Oval Office, claiming he had been insufficiently grateful for America’s support. But Trump has increasingly suggested that Putin has become an impediment to the peace deal he is seeking to negotiate.Trump said Monday the US was resuming munitions shipments to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia’s invasion. Just last week, White House acknowledged the administration had paused delivery of some air defence interceptors and precision-guided bombs and missiles to Ukraine, citing Pentagon concerns that US weapons stockpiles were dwindling.On Tuesday, Trump refused to say whether he knew in advance about the pause on munitions shipments. While seated beside his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, Trump was repeatedly pressed about who ordered the pause. “I don’t know,” he said to the reporter. “Why don’t you tell me?” Throughout his remarks, he repeatedly railed against how Russia is carrying out its war against Ukraine.“We’re not happy with Putin. I’m not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now, because he’s killing a lot of people,” Trump said. At another point, he said Putin was “not treating human beings right,” adding he was “killing too many people, so we’re sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine… They have to be able to defend themselves… So many people are dying in that mess.”
