Trump escalates criticism of Putin after restoring arms shipments to Ukraine

President Donald Trump stepped up his criticism of President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Tuesday, accusing him of duplicity a day after saying that Ukraine needed more weapons to defend itself against Russian’s invasion.

“We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting. “He’s very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

The harsh rhetoric was notable for Trump, who has often expressed skepticism of U.S. aid to Ukraine and admiration for Putin’s intelligence and strength. Just months ago, Trump dressed down President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in the Oval Office, claiming he had been insufficiently grateful for America’s support.

But Trump has increasingly suggested that Putin has become an impediment to the peace deal he is seeking to negotiate.

Trump said Monday that the United States was resuming munitions shipments to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia’s invasion. Just last week, the White House acknowledged that the administration had paused the delivery of some air defense interceptors and precision-guided bombs and missiles to Ukraine, citing Pentagon concerns that U.S. weapons stockpiles were dwindling.

Notably, Trump refused on Tuesday to say whether he knew in advance about the pause on munitions shipments. While seated beside his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, Trump was repeatedly pressed about who ordered the pause. “I don’t know,” he said to the reporter. “Why don’t you tell me?”

Throughout his remarks, the president repeatedly railed against how Russia is carrying out its war against Ukraine.

“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,” Trump said.

At another point, he said Putin was “not treating human beings right,” adding that the Russian president was “killing too many people, so we’re sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine.”

On Friday, Russia attacked Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with the largest number of drones and missiles launched in a single barrage so far in the war, according to the Ukrainian air force. The attack came just hours after a phone call between Trump and Putin.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.