Trump escalates criticism of Putin as he seeks to resume weapons shipments to Ukraine

President Trump escalated his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, accusing him of deception and not dealing in good faith when it comes to ending the three-year war in Ukraine.

“We get a lot of bulls—- thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Mr. Trump said during a White House Cabinet meeting. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

The comments were Mr. Trump’s harshest rebuke of his Russian counterpart since returning to office in January.

Mr. Trump has been skeptical of U.S. aid to Ukraine, and earlier this year he famously berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a public meeting at the Oval Office, accusing him of being ungrateful for U.S. support.

He was also initially complimentary to Mr. Putin, expressing admiration for the Russian president’s intelligence and strength. But as a peace deal in Ukraine slipped further from his grasp, Mr. Trump has let his frustration with Mr. Putin spill out into the public.

“We’re not happy with Putin. I’m not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now. Because he’s killing a lot of people. And a lot of them are his soldiers,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday.

Later in the meeting, Mr. Trump said Mr. Putin was “not treating human beings right,” and his war was “killing too many people, so we’re sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine.”

Mr. Trump’s harsh rhetoric comes after he announced Monday that the U.S. would resume munitions shipments to Ukraine to help it push back Russian invaders.

The administration last week paused the delivery of some air defense interceptors and precision-guided bombs and missiles to Ukraine, citing Pentagon concerns that America’s own stockpiles were dwindling.

When pressed about who ordered the munitions shipment pause, Mr. Trump refused to say whether he knew in advance about the plan.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” he said in response to a question about whether he ordered the pause.

Speaking at a dinner Monday night with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr. Trump said it was imperative that the U.S. continues to arm Ukraine.

“We have to,” Mr. Trump said. “They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now. We’re going to send some more weapons — defensive weapons primarily.”

Restarting the weapons shipments comes at a critical time for Ukraine, which is being battered by increasing air strikes from Russia.

On Monday, Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least 11 civilians and injured more than 80 others, including seven children.