'Very disappointed with Vladimir': Donald Trump criticises Putin for continuing Ukraine war; calls it 'biggest thing since World War II'

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday voiced disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin for continuing the war in Ukraine, calling it “the biggest thing since World War II in terms of deaths.”

“Look, I’m very disappointed because Vladimir and I had a very good relationship — probably still do. I don’t know why he continues with this war. This war has been so bad for him,” Trump told reporters during a bilateral meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei at the White House.

President Trump on Putin and his war:

I'm very disappointed because Vladimir and I had a very good relationship, probably still do. I don't know why he continues with this war. This war has been so bad for him.
He's going into four years of a war that he should have won war in… pic.twitter.com/1fRFzBZI1d

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) October 14, 2025

“He’s going into four years of a war he should have won in one week. He’s lost 1.5 million soldiers, or close to it — all the things that happen in horrible wars. It’s the biggest thing that has happened since World War II in terms of death,” he added.

Trump’s comments came ahead of his scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday. The two leaders are expected to discuss ongoing US support for Kyiv.

Trump had previously hosted Putin for talks on Ukraine at a military facility in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15. That meeting marked the first in-person encounter between the two leaders during Trump’s second term, which began in January. The administration has been seeking to broker an end to the conflict or at least a temporary ceasefire, with Trump appointing businessman Steve Witkoff as special envoy for the effort.

Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, when Moscow launched what it called a “special military operation.”