‘I Think It’s Time To Stop’: Trump’s Patience With Putin Wanes

The president said he wouldn’t “ever call anybody a paper tiger” but that Russia had “gained virtually no land” in its war.

Trump

Evan Vucci/AP

President Donald Trump decried Russia’s progress in its war against Ukraine, saying Thursday that the nation should abandon its efforts.

“I’m very disappointed in Putin,” Trump said in a bilateral meeting with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday. “With all of the heavy bombardment over the last two weeks, they’ve gained almost no land. Think of that — they’ve gained almost no land. I’m not going to ever call anybody a paper tiger, but Russia spent millions and millions of dollars in bombs, missiles, ammunition and lives, and they’ve gained virtually no land. I think it’s time to stop. I really do.”

The remarks punctuated a week that has shown dramatic shifts from the president on the Russia-Ukraine war.