Putin cronies brag Russia 'will do whatever it wants' while Trump freezes out Europe

Russia will continue attacking Ukraine regardless of any attempts to broker a peace deal, allies of Vladimir Putin have insisted, with one saying: "We will place our Armed Forces wherever we want to." Speaking on state broadcaster Russia 1, State Duma member and propagandist Evgeny Popov crowed about US President Donald Trump's threat to impose sanctions on Ukraine - and implied that both Kyiv and Europe were being frozen out.

The panel was speaking hours before Russia launched more deadly strikes on the Ukrainian capital, with at least 12 people killed including three children. On Tuesday, Mr Trump claimed it "takes two to tango" and suggesting that Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, "was not exactly innocent", as well as suggesting he was ready to hit his country with punitive economic measures if he did not sign up for a peace agreement.

Popov, an enthusiastic backer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said: “Trump says that he is expecting to settle the Ukrainian conflict quickly.

“The US President is no longer financing the war - US NATO allies are doing that. The US just wants to end the bloodshed.

“Trump says that the Kyiv regime shouldn’t have gotten into a war with Russia, since our country is 15 times stronger.

“Trump made it clear that he often sees Putin being more involved in negotiations than Zelensky.

“In this regards, there is a sensation. The US may impose senctions and tariffs not only against Russia, but also against Ukraine.

“This is what Trump said, if he isn’t satisfied with the pace of the settlement of this conflict.”

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was in contact with Russia “on a daily basis”, Popov claimed.

State Duma deputy Boris Cheryyshov added that Russia was bypassing Europe, saying: “Trump is in contact with Orban, but no contact and a total lack of understanding with Europe, and I’m certain that sanctions with which he is threatening Ukraine can also be extended to Europe.”

Popov then concluded: “We will place our Armed Forces wherever we want to, we will do whatever we want based on our interests.

“Why do we have to explain anything to anyone?"

Speaking to reporters at the White House Mr Trump said: "Thousands of young people, mostly young people, are dying every single week.

"If I can save that, by doing sanctions or by just being me, or by using a very strong tariff system that's very costly to Russia or Ukraine or whoever we have."

The mass Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine's capital, including a rare strike in the centre of the city, early on Thursday also wounded 48, local authorities said.

It was the first major Russian combined attack on Kyiv in weeks as U.S.-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction.

Russia launched 598 strike drones and decoys and 31 missiles of different types across the country, according to Ukraine's Air Force, making it one of the war's biggest air attacks.

Among the dead were three children ages 2, 14 and 17, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration. The numbers are expected to rise. Rescue teams were on site to pull people trapped underneath the rubble.