U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of reckless leadership in provoking a war with Russia—just a day after a Russian missile strike killed 35 civilians and injured 117 others in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy.

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“You don't start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles,” Trump said during a briefing at the White House, placing responsibility for the ongoing war on not just Russian President Vladimir Putin, but also Zelensky and former U.S. President Joe Biden.

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“Millions of people dead because of three people,” Trump declared. “Let's say Putin number one, let's say Biden who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelensky.”

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The president's remarks came amid international outrage following Sunday's deadly attack in Sumy, the worst single Russian assault on civilians this year. Though casualties from the war number in the hundreds of thousands, not millions, Trump appeared unfazed in his broadside against all three leaders.

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Pressed for his reaction to the Sumy strike, Trump described the attack as “terrible” and claimed he had been informed that Russia had “made a mistake,” though he did not elaborate.

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Trump, who has long been critical of U.S. involvement in Ukraine, questioned Zelensky's judgment, claiming the Ukrainian leader was “always looking to purchase missiles” and accusing him of dragging the region into avoidable bloodshed.

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“When you start a war, you got to know you can win,” he said.

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Despite Russia initiating the conflict in 2014 with its annexation of Crimea—and launching a full-scale invasion in 2022, three years after Zelensky was elected—Trump has consistently spread the blame across all parties.

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“Biden could have stopped it and Zelensky could have stopped it, and Putin should have never started it. Everybody is to blame,” he asserted.

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Tensions between Trump and Zelensky have remained high, especially after a tense exchange at the White House in February, where Trump accused the Ukrainian president of “gambling with World War Three” and criticized his refusal to open peace talks with Russia earlier.

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By contrast, Trump has recently taken steps to strengthen diplomatic channels with Moscow. He said he had a “great” phone call with Vladimir Putin last month, which was followed by a personal gift—a portrait sent by the Russian leader.

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In another striking move, Washington sided with Moscow in February by voting against a UN resolution that named Russia as the aggressor in its war against Ukraine.

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Although Trump has expressed frustration with the lack of progress on ceasefire talks, he continues to tout his ties with Russia. “I was very angry” with Putin, he said, but also added that they still have a “good relationship.”

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His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, recently spent nearly five hours in talks with Putin in St. Petersburg. Witkoff described the discussions as “compelling,” saying the Russian president expressed interest in “a permanent peace... beyond a ceasefire.”

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He said the talks included sensitive matters like the status of five Ukrainian territories now claimed by Russia and a demand for “no NATO, Article 5”—a reference to NATO’s commitment to mutual defense.

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“I think we might be on the verge of something that would be very, very important for the world at large,” Witkoff told Fox News. “There is a possibility to reshape the Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities that I think give real stability to the region, too. Partnerships create stability.”

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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was more reserved, describing the diplomatic contacts as “positive” but noting there was no formal agreement yet.

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Meanwhile, in an interview recorded prior to the Sumy attack, Zelensky made an emotional appeal to Trump, urging him to visit Ukraine before making any deals with Moscow.

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“Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead,” Zelensky told 60 Minutes.

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Sunday’s strike on Sumy saw two Iskander missiles rain down on the city’s center as civilians gathered for Palm Sunday services. A public bus was obliterated, and bodies were left scattered across the street.

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While Russia claimed it had targeted a meeting of Ukrainian troops, asserting 60 were killed, it provided no evidence to support its claim.

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Trump, however, insisted he wants to “stop the killing” and hinted that new proposals were being developed, though he declined to provide details.

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The war, now in its third year since Russia’s 2022 invasion, has roots in a decade-long conflict dating back to 2014, when Ukraine's pro-Russian president was ousted. That year, Russia seized Crimea and began supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine—igniting the conflict that continues to destabilize the region.

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