After a US strike that captured Venezuela\u2019s Maduro, Trump said: \u2018I thought \u2026 one of the easier ones would be Russia, Ukraine. It\u2019s not\u2019.<\/b>
\nUS President Donald Trump expressed fresh frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, bristling at the Kremlin\u2019s continuing military operations even as the US leader seeks to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
\u201cI\u2019m not thrilled with Putin, he\u2019s killing too many people,\u201d Trump said on Saturday during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Trump spoke hours after a brazen US strike that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who is now en route to the US to face federal drug trafficking, conspiracy and weapons charges.
\u201cI thought the easiest one would be, one of the easier ones would be Russia, Ukraine. It\u2019s not,\u201d Trump said, referring to his promise to end the conflict on his first day back in office.
The remarks were the latest showing by Trump of growing exasperation with Moscow following a renewed diplomatic push in recent weeks that saw Trump recently meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the two express optimism they were moving towards a peace deal.
Putin dampened those hopes on Monday, telling the US president that he would re-evaluate Moscow\u2019s negotiating stance and claiming Ukraine had targeted one of his presidential residences in a drone strike.
Trump initially told reporters he was \u201cvery angry\u201d about the purported attack on Putin\u2019s home, even as Ukrainian officials denied Moscow\u2019s account and cast the allegations as an attempt to derail the peace talks.<\/p>\n