Trump is venting frustration at Putin, which comes as Congressional Republicans are pressing him to put pressure on Russia with new sanctions.
"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 posted Tuesday on Truth Social. "He's playing with fire!"
Trump has so far been unable to secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine despite his repeated promises to end the war quickly.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accepted the U.S. terms for a ceasefire. But Putin has steadfastly refused to play ball and continued his attacks over the weekend, taking four Ukrainian border towns and launching a record number of drones.
"I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him," Trump posted. "He has gone absolutely CRAZY!"
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in response, warned Trump against "emotional reactions."
And Zelensky said he was frustrated by the "silence of America," which he said would "only encourage Putin."
The back and forth has Republican senators increasingly pushing for Trump to be more aggressive with Russia.
"ITS TIME FOR SANCTIONS STRONG ENUF SO PUTIN KNOWS 'game over'" Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) posted to X.
And Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sponsored a bill to impose new sanctions on Russia, with more than 80 cosponsors.
In addition, Graham wrote an op-ed posted by The Wall Street Journal saying the Senate stands ready to "grind" the Putin "war machine to a halt" if a ceasefire deal isn't reached soon.
The tensions come as the U.S. and Russia agreed to a new prisoner swap Tuesday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in Turkey that the two leaders agreed to an exchange of prisoners, with Lavrov praising Trump as a "man who wants results," and he claimed the U.S. president's efforts were being "sabotaged" by other nations.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
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