Latest news with #RTNews
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump admits protecting Putin over Ukraine: ‘He's playing with fire!'
President Donald Trump admitted Tuesday he's been protecting Vladimir Putin over the Russian strongman's refusal to end — or even scale back — the war in Ukraine. After seeing his pleas for peace talks or a ceasefire go unanswered for months, Trump conceded that he's defended Putin in discussions over what to do next about Russia's new attacks in Ukraine. 'If it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia,' Trump wrote on his social media site. 'And I mean really bad.' Despite the telling admission, Trump inferred he may soon shift course and impose some cost on Putin for continuing the invasion by Russia of its smaller neighbor. 'He's playing with fire,' Trump exclaimed, without elaborating. Top Putin aide Dmitry Medvedev fired back at Trump, warning that 'I only know of one bad thing — WW III.' But the pro-Kremlin RT News channel chose to mock Trump's tough guy act, noting that he has repeatedly backed down after making previous threats to Putin and on trade. 'Trump's message leaves little room for misinterpretation,' the channel tweeted. 'Until he posts the opposite tomorrow morning.' Putin has shrugged off several previous outbursts from Trump, including branding the U.S. president's recent call for an end to 'crazy' airstrikes an 'emotional reaction.' Trump vowed to end the war in Ukraine on the campaign trail, but so far has seen little to no progress toward that goal since taking office four months ago. He says he believes Putin wants to end the war, but the strategy of mostly taking Russia's side appears to have backfired by giving Putin little reason to make concessions. Trump conceded to Russia's demands that Ukraine be permanently barred from joining NATO and must give up Russian-occupied lands including the Crimea. He hasn't appeared to get anything in return from Putin. Instead, the Russians seem confident they can win more ground on the battlefield and eventually get a better deal when or if they decide to end the war they launched when they invaded their sovereign neighbor in 2022. Months ago, Trump demanded that both sides accept his unilateral call for a ceasefire. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed, but Putin snubbed Trump and has stubbornly refused to end the fighting. Russia has instead escalated attacks on the front lines in occupied Ukraine and on civilian targets in Kyiv and other cities. Despite Putin's recalcitrance, Trump has refused to make him pay any price for ignoring his pleas. Trump continues to laud Russia as a potentially lucrative trading partner and says he hopes to hold a face-to-face summit soon, effectively sending mixed messages to the Kremlin. _____
NDTV
14-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Putin Claims Ukraine "Catching Men Like Dogs", Russians Joining Army "Willingly"
During a meeting with members of 'Business Russia organization' on May 13, 2025, President Vladimir Putin criticised Ukraine's military recruitment methods, asserting that Ukrainian officials are forcibly conscripting individuals "like dogs" off the streets, according to Sputnik News. In contrast, he highlighted Russia's steady influx of military volunteers, emphasising the nation's reliance on voluntary enlistment rather than coercion. Putin's remarks show what he perceives as a lack of enthusiasm among Ukrainians for their military efforts, while promoting the narrative of high morale and voluntary participation among Russian forces. "If the Kiev authorities are conducting forced mobilisation-catching people like dogs in the streets-here, our guys are volunteering; they come on their own. They're currently catching about 30,000 there, while here, 50-60,000 come on their own every month," the Russian News Portal q uoted Vladimir Putin as saying. According to RT News, Ukraine launched a general mobilisation following the escalation of the conflict with Russia in early 2022, barring most men aged between 18 and 60 years old from leaving the country and setting the conscription age at 27. Last year, faced with mounting losses and manpower shortages, Kiev lowered the limit to 25 while introducing stricter penalties for draft dodgers and simplifying other mobilisation rules. Mobilisation in Ukraine has grown increasingly chaotic and violent over the course of the conflict, with numerous videos circulating online showing enlistment officers, frequently backed by civilian police, chasing would-be recruits in the streets, brawling and threatening them with military-grade weaponry. The Ukrainian mobilisation effort has become popularly known as the "busification" - describing the process of violently packing recruits into minibuses, which are commonly used by enlistment officials, reported the news portal RT.
