Trump says efforts to end Ukraine war 'somewhat under control' just hours before deadly Russian drone strike on Kyiv

 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that efforts to end the war in Ukraine are "somewhat under control," just hours before a devastating Russian drone strike on Kyiv killed three people, including a five-year-old girl and her father.

Speaking to OutKick on March 22, Trump said he has had "very rational discussions" with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I don't think there's anybody in the world that's going to stop (Putin) except me, and I think I'm going to be able to stop him," Trump told Travis during the interview aboard Air Force One. "We've had some very rational discussions, and I just want to see the people stop getting killed."

However, just a few hours after the interview, Kyiv was struck by multiple Russian kamikaze drones, resulting in three deaths and ten injuries.

Trump has been pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine since taking office in January, but negotiations with Russia have had limited success. On March 18, Moscow announced it had agreed to a 30-day ceasefire on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, proposed by the U.S., following a call between Trump and Putin. While the White House celebrated this partial ceasefire, numerous Ukrainian civilians have continued to be killed by Russian attacks since it was implemented.

Trump also told OutKick founder Clay Travis that he maintains a good relationship with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, despite a tense exchange at the White House last month, where Zelensky walked out early without agreeing to a deal on Ukraine's minerals.

U.S. negotiators are scheduled to meet with Ukrainian and Russian delegates separately in Riyadh on March 24 to discuss the ceasefire proposal. Ukrainian officials have expressed skepticism that the talks will lead to meaningful results. So far, Trump’s team has only held separate bilateral talks with each side, including meetings with Russia in Riyadh on February 18 and Istanbul on February 27, and with Ukraine in Jeddah on March 11.