Trump Says Putin Wants To 'Just Keep Killing People', Hints At Tough Sanctions

News18 ^ | 7/5/2025 | Mallika Soni

[marcusmaximus]

US President Donald Trump voiced strong criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing deep frustration over their latest conversation about the ongoing war in Ukraine. Calling the situation “no good", Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy" with the call, as he accused Vladimir Putin of wanting to “keep killing people."

“It’s a very tough situation," Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding, “He wants to go all the way- just keep killing people. It’s no good."

The US president also suggested that additional US sanctions on Moscow could be imminent, saying sanctions were a recurring topic in his conversations with Vladimir Putin. He said, “He understands that it may be coming."

The US president also suggested that additional US sanctions on Moscow could be imminent, saying sanctions were a recurring topic in his conversations with Vladimir Putin. He said, “He understands that it may be coming."

[PIF]

47 readies another very harsh slap on the wrist for Putin, his friend who is just not behaving as he’s supposed to act.

[BroJoeK]

PIF: "47 readies another very harsh slap on the wrist for Putin, his friend who is just not behaving as he’s supposed to act."

My understanding of Pres. Trump's priorities here are:

1. Preventing nuclear war

2. Working a peace deal between Russia & Ukraine

3. Forcing Europeans & other Western allies to provide Ukraine with more aid

4. Pivoting US military posture more towards dealing with China in the Indo-Pacific.

I can find no confirmed reports of any additional US aid delivered to Ukraine since January 20, 2025.
I have seen where there are just a few $billion left "in the pipeline", but even that, when delivered, is just a drop in the bucket compared to previous amounts.

So I'm not saying my understanding is necessarily correct, only that I've seen no reports to contradict it.

[Locomotive Breath]

Well it took awhile, but Trump’s finally got the right target in the crosshairs. Whatever Zelenskyy’s failings, and the failings of the rest of Ukraine, the war is due to Putin and Putin alone.

[PIF]

Working a peace deal between Russia & Ukraine - never happen. Putin, like Russia, arbors peace. There are no riches or power to be gained that are worth having without conquest.

European aid is fine but they are not geared to making armaments and by the time they are, Russia could well overrun Ukraine.

China is in turmoil now - there is a huge battle going on between groups for control, now that Xi Jinping has been “displaced”. The CMC is on top now, but who know who will survive the purges, investigations, arrests, and disappearances to come out on top.

Not to worry about China - fix Europe first. Else pursue a fool’s errand.

—
There are reports that the pipe;line never stopped - except for the munitions Ukraine needs most and can only get from the US like: Patriot and Hellfire missiles.

[Kazan]

How much do you want to see inflation increase and interest rates go up with more sanctions that hurt our economy?

[TexasGator]

“How much do you want to see inflation increase and interest rates go up with more sanctions that hurt our economy?”

More? Inflation and interest rates are coming down!

[marcusmaximus]

Is your side going to declare war on President Trump on Monday?

[Kazan]

I absolutely agree with Trump's decision to cutoff arm shipments to Ukraine.

You obviously don't because you want to put Ukraine's interests ahead of our national security needs.

You keep exposing yourself as the enemy of the MAGA movement.

[datricker]

I don’t know it hasn’t been a good year to be on the Russian side of the ledger. Syria and Iran went down with hardly a peep. Russian influence is being eliminated around the world as putin is bogged down with a war he started. I suspect we have quantum sensors that can see his nuclear submarines. This means the Russian triad no longer exists. Putin is increasingly isolated and gets weaker by the day. Unless he comes to his senses I doubt we have the pleasure of him on the world stage much longer

[marcusmaximus]

You didn’t answer my question. Is your side going to declare war on President Trump on Monday??

[PIF]

Just the cost of doing business for Putin - he cares not a wit about the costs. Holding power is all. But even with Putin gone, Russia will fight on until they suffer a catastrophic military defeat. Nothing else will halt them.

47’s bitch slaps are ignored and worked around, making him the naive fool playing with fire.

[anthropocene_x]

Putin will drive Russia into the ground.
Doing the opposite of Make Russia Great Again.

[ichabod1]

Ultimately the toughest sanctions of all is a full blockade.

[BroJoeK]

PIF: "Working a peace deal between Russia & Ukraine - never happen.
Putin, like Russia, arbors peace.
There are no riches or power to be gained that are worth having without conquest"

***

I reject the idea that Pres. Trump is blind to reality and can't see Putin's evil intentions.
From the beginning, Trump opposed Putin's moves into Ukraine and worked to prevent further expansion of Putin's ambitions.
Trump has always said Putin's 2022 invasions would not have happened if he, Trump, had been reelected in 2020.
It's a hugely important point because many who now support Ukraine against Russia also supported Biden against Trump in 2020.

Trump has tried now for over five months, in all good faith, to negotiate a peace deal with Putin, and it hasn't worked.
Most recently, Trump expressed his frustrations:

1. July 3, aboard Air Force One: "We had a call.
   It was a pretty long call.
   We talked about a lot of things, including Iran, and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine.
   And I'm not happy about that, I'm not happy."

2. July 3, aboard Air Force One: “No, I didn’t make any progress with him today at all.”

3. July 4, aboard Air Force One: “Putin understands U.S. sanctions may be coming…
   I’m not happy with how he’s acting.
   He wants to keep going, keep fighting.
   He thinks he can take it all.”

4. July 4, aboard Air Force One: “He just wants to go all the way and just keep killing people.
   It’s no good.
   I wasn’t happy with it.”

5. Previously on March 25, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and DNI Tulsi Gabbard testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee warning of Russia's “unabated pursuit of war aims” and the “strategic risk of underestimating Putin’s resolve”.

6. Also on March 25, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Senate Intelligence Hearing: "Russia remains the most capable and most determined adversary in the European theater.
   Putin’s strategic intent has not changed—he seeks to fracture NATO and redraw borders.”

7. Same hearing, DNI Gabbard: “We are not blind to the risks.
   Russia’s hybrid warfare, disinformation, and energy leverage remain potent tools.
   Any peace must be durable and verifiable.”
   Gabbard also noted that “Putin’s ambitions go beyond Ukraine,” and warned that “a frozen conflict is not a solution”

8. June 2025, Munich Security Conference, Sec. Rubio: “Russia is not just a military threat—it’s a strategic disruptor.
   We must be clear-eyed about what Putin wants and what he’s willing to do to get it.”

So any suggestions that the Trump administration is blinded or limited by rosy scenarios are simply not the case.

PIF: "European aid is fine but they are not geared to making armaments and by the time they are, Russia could well overrun Ukraine."

Maybe, but in the past, Ukraine's military efforts were supported roughly:

1. 1/3 from Ukraine's own military production
2. 1/3 from American military production
3. 1/3 from all others including Euros, other Western allies and NGOs.

This seems to have already changed to roughly 50% each from Ukraine's own production and from all others, with US contributions dropping to nearly zero.

The Euros, especially, have mostly reached their 2% of GDP pledge during the Trump 45 administration, and have now pledged to reach 5% in coming years -- a pledge which, if kept, will put Euro defense spending 50% ahead of US spending at now ~3.3% of GDP.

In the meantime, while US aid to Ukraine has dropped to a mere trickle, Europeans and other western allies have pledged over $300 billion, of which nearly $200 billion was delivered and over $100 billion remains in their pipelines for future deliveries.

Yes, it may be true that US Patriots are the best of the best anti-missile systems, but there are other systems that can take out all but the most capable ballistic missiles.
These include Ukrainian and European systems against aircraft, cruise missiles and "drone swarms".
Point is, while US weapons are still the world's best, plenty of other allies make weapons which are a close second-best, still much better than Russian weapons and potentially much cheaper than US weapons.

Will they be good enough and enough in quantity?
Nobody knows today.

PIF: "China is in turmoil now - there is a huge battle going on between groups for control, now that Xi Jinping has been “displaced”.
The CMC is on top now, but who know who will survive the purges, investigations, arrests, and disappearances to come out on top."

In recent months I've seen lots of YouTube videos claiming, as you say, that China is a mess economically and politically.
There's no way to tell how true any of those stories are, and even if true China, like Russia, is a highly controlled authoritarian society built precisely to withstand and suppress any such shocks to its systems.

I've seen no reports -- zero, zip, nada reports -- suggesting that CCP China's communist leaders will suddenly become peace-loving Jeffersonian democrats, or that any of them have given up on their goals of Taiwan's military conquest.

PIF: "There are reports that the pipe;line never stopped - except for the munitions Ukraine needs most and can only get from the US like: Patriot and Hellfire missiles."

There are no public reports detailing either the weapons, the amounts or the dollar values of US aid to Ukraine since January 20, 2025 -- at least not that I can find.

*** I'm out of time now, so can't take the time to link those quotes to their sources.
If that bothers anybody, let me know which ones you don't believe me on and I'll link their sources for you...

[PIF]

The reports on China I read come from inside China - they are not speculation or opinion.

“China, like Russia, is a highly controlled authoritarian society built precisely to withstand and suppress any such shocks to its systems.”

According to Westerners who follow the surface movements and read the propaganda, but in practice they are a mess of contending families and groups. No one knows how long a particular person will remain in power. But everyone knows the person will be replaced at some point. Deng and those who followed changed Mao’s policies, while Xi tried to replace Mao, others grew discontented. Which is where China is now - with dozens of Xi’s generals and supporters gone. Which means Xi is gone from power too.

—
If 47 were not naive about Putin, Russia, and Russian “culture”, then he would be doing more then saying this and that. Sanctions have not worked and will not work. They are not a solution, as long as China remains an ally.

“Trump has always said Putin’s 2022 invasions would not have happened if he, Trump, had been reelected in 2020.”

47 also said that after being elected he’d end the war in a few days. 6 months later ...

[BroJoeK]

PIF: "No one knows how long a particular person will remain in power.
But everyone knows the person will be replaced at some point.
Deng and those who followed changed Mao’s policies, while Xi tried to replace Mao, others grew discontented.
Which is where China is now - with dozens of Xi’s generals and supporters gone.
Which means Xi is gone from power too."

I've seen nothing to suggest that a change in power in Beijing will affect China's strategic goals & aspirations regarding Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Tactical battlefield nukes:

PIF: "47 also said that after being elected he’d end the war in a few days. 6 months later ..."

Good point.

It appears to me that what Pres. Trump did end "within 24 hours" was the likelihood of Putin's Ukraine invasions escalating into nuclear exchanges.

I think Trump is most reluctant to deal with Putin's threats of nuclear war or Putin's willingness to reestablish "escalation dominance" over Trump.

So, Trump has tried to keep nuclear war off the table -- either as a bargaining chip or as a battlefield reality.
I also suspect, at some point Putin **will** turn to nukes, because that's all he's got left, and Trump's tactics are to delay that time as long as possible.
And, in the meantime, Trump is working every other angle, especially the Euros.

Strategic city-killer nukes:

[PIF]

It appears to me that what Pres. Trump did end “within 24 hours” was the likelihood of Putin’s Ukraine invasions escalating into nuclear exchanges.

I think Trump is most reluctant to deal with Putin’s threats of nuclear war or Putin’s willingness to reestablish “escalation dominance” over Trump.

—
Never was on the table - it was all bluster from the Drunk Medvedev - Putin knows full well that any use of a nuke will rapidly escalate into full scale nuclear war, wherein he and his will most certainly perish.
So no credit in that direction - more assumptions that were never real possibilities.

[McGruff]

It's a war special operation. Object is to defeat the other guys army.

[BroJoeK]

PIF: "Never was on the table - it was all bluster from the Drunk Medvedev - Putin knows full well that any use of a nuke will rapidly escalate into full scale nuclear war, wherein he and his will most certainly perish.
So no credit in that direction - more assumptions that were never real possibilities."

You assume Putin is a rational actor, not a crazed lunatic.
And yet you've also confirmed that he is anything but rational:

PIF: "Working a peace deal between Russia & Ukraine - never happen.
Putin, like Russia, arbors peace.
There are no riches or power to be gained that are worth having without conquest"

Given a choice between loss in war, loss of government and loss of his own life, on the one hand, and a nuclear strike on the other, which will Putin chose?

Are you 100% certain?

Putin's Dmitry "Mini-me" Medvedev showing
map of Russia's goals in Ukraine as of 2024: