By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and AAMER MADHANI, Related Press
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday informed reporters that U.S. officers have decided that Ukraine didn’t goal a residence belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a drone assault final week, disputing Kremlin claims that Trump had initially greeted with deep concern.
Russian International Minister Sergey Lavrov final week mentioned Ukraine launched a wave of drones at Putin’s state residence within the northwestern Novgorod area that the Russian protection methods had been capable of defeat. Lavrov additionally criticized Kyiv for launching the assault at a second of intensive negotiations to finish the struggle.
The allegation got here only a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had traveled to Florida for talks with Trump on the U.S. administration’s still-evolving 20-point plan aimed toward ending the struggle. Zelenskyy shortly denied the Kremlin allegation.
Trump mentioned that “one thing occurred close by” Putin’s residence however that People officers didn’t discover the Russian president’s residence was focused.
“I don’t imagine that strike occurred,” Trump informed reporters as he traveled again to Washington on Sunday after spending two weeks at his dwelling in Florida. “We don’t imagine that occurred, now that we’ve been capable of examine.”
Trump addressed the U.S. willpower after European officers argued that the Russian declare was nothing greater than an effort by Moscow to undermine the peace effort.
However Trump, a minimum of initially, had appeared to take the Russian allegations at face worth. He informed reporters final Monday that Putin had additionally raised the matter throughout a telephone he had with the Russian chief earlier that day. And Trump mentioned he was “very indignant” in regards to the accusation.
By Wednesday, Trump seemed to be downplaying the Russian declare. He posted a hyperlink to a New York Submit editorial on his social media platform that raised doubt in regards to the Russian allegation. The editorial lambasted Putin for selecting “lies, hatred, and demise” at a second that Trump has claimed is “nearer than ever earlier than” to transferring the 2 sides to a deal to finish the struggle.
The U.S. president has struggled to meet a pledge to shortly finish the struggle in Ukraine and has proven irritation with each Zelenskyy and Putin as he tried to mediate an finish to a battle he boasted on the marketing campaign path that he might finish in at some point.
Each Trump and Zelenskyy mentioned final week they made progress of their talks at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
However Putin has proven little curiosity in ending the struggle till all of Russia’s goals are met, together with successful management of all Ukrainian territory in the important thing industrial Donbas area and imposing extreme restrictions on the dimensions of Ukraine’s post-war navy and the kind of weaponry it may well possess.
Madhani reported from Washington.
