Yury Ushakov, former Russian ambassador to the United States, has publicly criticized Donald Trump for being insufficiently informed regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. This criticism comes in response to Trump's recent comments accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of "playing with fire."
Speaking on Russia-1 state television, Ushakov stated, "Trump says a lot of things. Naturally, we read and monitor all of this. But in many ways, we have come to the conclusion that Trump is not sufficiently informed about what is really happening in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation." He further alleged that Trump seemed unaware of the reportedly increasing terrorist attacks launched by Ukraine on Russian cities.
Ushakov, who was part of the Russian delegation that met with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia earlier this year to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, made his remarks shortly after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Trump's statements during a press call.
The controversy stems from a post by Trump on his Truth Social platform, where he asserted, "What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!" The ex-president's comments followed a series of deadly Russian drone and missile strikes targeting civilian areas in Ukraine over recent weeks.
Moreover, Trump condemned Putin's recent aggressive actions by calling him "absolutely CRAZY," stating, "I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever."
The exchange escalated when Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, issued a stark warning, referencing the threat of World War III. Medvedev commented, "I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!"
In response, Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, condemned Medvedev's remarks as reckless, stating on X (formerly Twitter), "Stoking fears of WW III is an unfortunate, reckless comment."