Trump dismisses Zelensky's call to capture Putin
President Donald Trump has rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's suggestion to launch a mission targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, following the recent US operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Speaking to Fox News during a White House meeting with oil company executives, Trump stated, "I don't think that will be necessary. I've always had a great relationship with him, and I'm very disappointed."
The remarks come amid stalled peace talks and escalating Russian assaults on Ukraine, including the deployment of the nuclear-capable Orechnik hypersonic missile against the western city of Lviv on January 9. Trump expressed frustration that the Ukrainian conflict has proven far more intractable than anticipated, despite his campaign pledges to end it swiftly. He noted that Russia suffered 31,000 soldier losses in the previous month alone, with similar tolls in prior periods, adding, "I've resolved eight wars. I thought this one would be average or even one of the easier ones. Too many people are dying, mostly soldiers."
Zelensky's proposal followed the January 3 US raid, codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, which involved over 200 special operations forces and resulted in Maduro's transfer to New York to face drug trafficking charges. The Ukrainian leader implied that if dictators like Maduro could be apprehended this way, the United States knew its next move.
Tensions have heightened over Russia's claim that Ukraine attempted to strike Putin's residence in Valdaï late last December. US intelligence, including the CIA, assesses that the target was a nearby military site, not Putin's home, dismissing Moscow's narrative as fabricated to justify intensified attacks and sabotage peace efforts. CIA Director John Ratcliffe briefed Trump on this intelligence, prompting the president to share a New York Post editorial blaming Russia for obstructing progress.
Russia cited the alleged incident to rationalize its massive January 9 strikes, which killed at least four in Kiev and damaged critical infrastructure across multiple cities. The Orechnik strike on Lviv marked only the second combat use of this intermediate-range ballistic missile in the war. Zelensky labeled the Russian accusation a "pure fabrication" aimed at enabling further aggression and urged stronger global pressure on Moscow. He revealed that a bilateral US-Ukraine security agreement is nearly complete, with ongoing talks on postwar reconstruction plans potentially totaling $800 billion over a decade.
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