Trump expresses dissatisfaction with Russia’s late-night missile strike on Kyiv and appeals to Vladimir to cease fire and prioritize peace negotiations.

Expressing his discontent, Donald Trump announced that he was displeased with Vladimir Putin’s recent missile strike on Kyiv. The strike occurred following unsuccessful peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

‘I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing,’ he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump urged his Russian counterpart: ‘Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!’

In the overnight attack on Kyiv, Russia deployed a relentless onslaught of missiles and drones. This assault resulted in the death of at least nine individuals and left over 70 others wounded. It stands as the most fatal attack on the Ukrainian capital since July and coincides with crucial peace talks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that the large-scale missile attack on Kyiv was designed to put ‘pressure’ on the United States.

Addressing concerns raised by Trump, Putin affirmed that Kyiv’s stance on Crimea would remain unchanged. Trump had criticized Putin for refusing to relinquish control of the Black Sea peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Europe has also stepped up demands on Putin to agree to an immediate unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, with French President Emmanuel Macron having accused the Russian leader of ‘lying’ about wanting peace.

Sir Keir Starmer said the deadly overnight attack demonstrated that Putin was ‘the aggressor here’. 

Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin for launching an overnight missile strike on Kyiv

Trump urged Vladimir Putin to ‘get the peace deal done’

The Kremlin fired 66 ballistic and cruise missiles, four plane-launched air-to-surface missiles, and 145 Shahed and decoy drones at Kyiv and four other regions of Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Kyiv reeled from the bombardment, which kept residents on edge for about 11 hours. Zelensky called the fatal attack ‘one of the most sophisticated, most brazen’ during Russia’s three-year invasion. 

Zelensky is visiting South Africa but has said he will cut his trip short to return to Kyiv – after his talks with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

‘Russia understands that Ukraine is standing up, defending its rights and (it) is putting pressure on our people. It is also putting pressure on America,’ the Ukrainian president told journalists in South Africa. ‘This is what I also link today’s attack with.’ 

Thursday’s attack came hours after Trump said a Ukraine peace deal was ‘very close’ and effectively closed with Moscow.

But Zelensky insisted that Kyiv would not accept Crimea as part of Russia. Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014 and backed a pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine, leading to years of conflict with Kyiv.

‘We do everything that our partners have proposed, only what contradicts our legislation and the Constitution we cannot do,’ Zelensky said, answering a question on Crimea. Trump said a day earlier that Kyiv had lost Crimea ‘years ago’.

Zelensky also said he did not see enough pressure from Kyiv’s allies on Moscow to halt its invasion.

‘I don’t see any strong pressure on Russia or any new sanctions packages against Russia’s aggression,’ Zelensky told journalists during a visit to South Africa.

He did however acknowledge that Trump had previously warned of repercussions if Moscow did not agree to a ceasefire.

Putin has launched a large scale drone attack on Kyiv that has killed at least nine people and injured another 70, including six children, Ukrainian officials say. Pictured are rescuers working the site of an apartment building in Kyiv that hit by a Russian ballistic missile overnight

Macron is also putting pressure on Moscow to reach a deal and accused Putin of ‘lying’ about his wanting peace.

‘The only thing to do is for President Putin to finally stop lying,’ Macron said during a visit to Madagascar, saying how the Russian leader was telling US negotiators ‘he wants peace’ but then continuing ‘to bombard Ukraine’.

‘In Ukraine, they only want a single answer: Does President Putin agree to an unconditional ceasefire?’

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.