Donald Trump tore into Russia on Tuesday following one of the deadliest nights of Moscow’s war on Ukraine this year. The US President called the latest wave of strikes on civilian targets “disgusting” and warning Kremlin officials not to test American patience. Speaking at a press conference in Washington, the US President condemned the overnight attacks that killed at least 27 civilians and injured more than 100, including in a prison bombing that left dozens of inmates dead or seriously wounded.
Trump: “Russia? I think it’s disgusting, what they’re doing. I think it’s disgusting.” The Russian military launched a coordinated assault late on Monday involving ballistic missiles, glide bombs, and Iranian-made drones. Four guided bombs struck a correctional facility in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while additional strikes hit a maternity hospital in Dnipro, a grocery store in Kharkiv, and multiple civilian sites across Kherson and other regions.
Mr Trump added: “This is Biden’s war, it’s not my war, but I said that if I get in, I’ll try and get the thing stopped. But I think what Russia’s doing is very sad.
“A lot of Russians are dying, more Russians are dying, but Russians are dying, Ukrainians are dying. The United States is not really involved in that war; it shouldn’t be.”
Despite his effort to distance himself from responsibility for the war, Mr Trump has grown increasingly vocal about the scale of Russian violence. On Monday, he abruptly shortened a previously announced 50-day ultimatum to just 10 days, warning President Vladimir Putin that unless attacks on civilians stop by August 8, the US will hit Russia with fresh sanctions and tariffs.
The new deadline sparked immediate backlash from Moscow. Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and now deputy chairman of the Security Council, warned Trump against “playing the ultimatum game with Russia” and suggested the US was risking a direct confrontation.
However, posting on Truth Social, Mr Trump responded: “Tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered a more measured response, saying Russia had “taken note” of Mr Trump’s threat but would continue to pursue its objectives in Ukraine.
At the Bilenkivska Correctional Facility, glide bombs destroyed the dining hall and damaged administrative buildings. Ukrainian officials said at least 16 inmates were killed, with more than 40 others hospitalised with serious injuries.
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s Justice Ministry: “This was a deliberate strike. There was no military target here. This is a war crime.”
The attack came exactly three years after a similar bombing at the Olenivka detention facility in Russian-occupied Donetsk killed over 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war. While Moscow blamed Kyiv at the time, investigations by the Associated Press and a UN analysis pointed to Russia as the likely culprit.
In Dnipro, Russian missiles partially destroyed a maternity hospital, killing three people, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman. Five civilians were also killed in a grocery store strike in the Kharkiv region, and casualties were reported across several other oblasts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Mr Trump’s tougher tone and the shortened deadline.
Mr Zelensky said: “Everyone needs peace — Ukraine, Europe, the United State,s and responsible leaders across the globe. Everyone except Russia.”
While Mr Trump has consistently criticised extensive US involvement in Ukraine and remains reluctant to deepen military aid, his rhetoric toward Moscow has shifted dramatically. His comments on Tuesday were among the most forceful he has made since returning to the presidency.
