Donald Trump has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that he is “playing with fire” following a barrage of Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine.
The U.S. president also suggested Russia has avoided “really bad things” — thanks to him.
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday.
“He’s playing with fire!”
"What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!" –President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/2YjbtyYiwK
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 27, 2025
During his campaign, Trump promised to end the war within 24 hours after his return to the White House and repeatedly claimed that Russia’s invasion never would have happened had he been in office at the time.
But more than three months after his inauguration, with no ceasefire yet in sight, Trump is increasingly critical of his Russian counterpart and has threatened to impose severe sanctions after a relentless string of attacks.
“Nothing sadder than a tough guy who needs to remind you he’s tough, right after admitting to shielding Russia,” wrote former Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who was a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard.
Trump is “publicly admitting to acting exactly as an agent of influence of Russia would be expected to act,” said Phillips O’Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
The president is also “feeling pressure to be harder on Russia, which he really doesn’t want to do,” he wrote.
“When will those REALLY BAD things finally start happening to Russia?” wrote Olena Halushka with the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory. “We can’t wait.”
Russian state-controlled media outlet RT appeared to mock Trump’s statement, saying the president’s post “leaves little room for misinterpretation, until he posts the opposite tomorrow morning.”
The president’s latest comments follow recent criticism against his Russian counterpart after three massive drone and missile attacks against civilian targets across Ukraine, including what Ukraine has called the largest attack yet since the start of Russia’s assault more than three years ago.
“I wouldn’t call it frustration,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said of Trump’s latest remarks on Tuesday.
“It was the statement of a man who has led the effort for peace in so many regions, making it clear and being completely transparent about what has transpired,” she told reporters.
Trump “has many tools” to end the “carnage,” and Russia should take Trump’s comments “seriously,” said Bruce.
After spending a bulk of his second administration thus far falsely blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the war, Trump’s recent rhetoric has gestured towards threats and outright condemnation of Putin. Just last week, the president praised a call with Putin as “excellent” in “tone and spirit.”
But on Sunday, he unleashed a tirade against the Russian leader, who he has called a friend, saying he has “gone absolutely CRAZY” with the latest attacks.
“Something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. “I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”
Putin is “needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers,” Trump wrote Sunday. “Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.”
The Kremlin shrugged off the president’s remarks, saying in response that “everyone” involved is guilty of “emotional overload” while thanking Trump for his efforts to broker peace — which Russia is routinely rejecting.
Zelensky urged Trump to apply “real pressure” against Putin.
“Putin shows just how much he despises the world — the world that spends more effort on ‘dialogue’ with him than on real pressure,” Zelensky wrote on Monday.
“The increase in Russian strikes should be met with increased sanctions,” he added. “Russia’s disregard for diplomacy and refusal even to consider a ceasefire must be met with a freeze on Russian finances and a halt to its oil trade.”
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