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Trump Says Putin ‘Playing with Fire’ in New Jab at Russian Leader

US President Donald Trump smiles before speaking in the amphitheater at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump smiles before speaking in the amphitheater at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Says Putin ‘Playing with Fire’ in New Jab at Russian Leader

US President Donald Trump smiles before speaking in the amphitheater at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump smiles before speaking in the amphitheater at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump warned Vladimir Putin Tuesday that he was "playing with fire," launching a fresh broadside at his Russian counterpart over stalled Ukraine peace efforts.

Trump's latest comments came after he called the Kremlin leader "CRAZY" over the weekend following a mass Russian air attack on Kyiv, and warned that Moscow risked new sanctions.

"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," Trump said on his Truth Social network Tuesday.

"He's playing with fire!"

Trump did not specify what the "really bad" things were or make any specific threats.

But the Wall Street Journal and CNN both reported that Trump was now considering fresh sanctions against Russia as early as this week, while stressing that he could still change his mind.

Trump had told reporters on Sunday he was "absolutely" considering increasing sanctions on Moscow.

The US president's recent rebukes mark a major change from his previous attitude towards Putin, whom he often speaks of with admiration and has previously held off criticizing.

Trump has however expressed increasing frustration with Moscow's position in deadlocked truce negotiations with Kyiv.

That frustration boiled over at the weekend when Russia launched a record drone barrage at Ukraine, killing at least 13 people.

"I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!" Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday night.

Russia's attacks have continued despite a phone call between Trump and Putin eight days ago in which the US leader said the Russian president had agreed to "immediately" start ceasefire talks.

Moscow on Tuesday accused Kyiv of trying to "disrupt" peace efforts and said its aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent days were a "response" to escalating Ukrainian drone strikes on its own civilians.

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World

Prince Harry, on Visit to Kyiv, Tells Putin to 'Stop this War'

Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters
Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters
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Prince Harry, on Visit to Kyiv, Tells Putin to 'Stop this War'

Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters
Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters

Britain's Prince Harry made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday and called on Russia's President Vladimir Putin to end the war - a week after a massive Russian aerial attack on the country - and on US President Donald Trump to show leadership to help resolve the conflict.

By convention, the British royal family do not speak out on political matters, although King Charles and other senior royals have regularly voiced their support for Ukraine. But Harry, on his third visit to the country since the war began, used far more explicit language than any of his relatives have done previously, Reuters reported.

"President Putin, no nation benefits from the continued loss of life we are witnessing. There is still a moment—now—to stop this war, to prevent further suffering for Ukrainians and Russians alike, and to choose a different course," Harry said in a speech to a Kyiv security forum.

He called on Washington to do more to bring about an end to the war.

"This is a moment for American leadership, a moment for America to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations," he said.

"Europe has stood up in profound ways," added Harry, a British Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. "The task now is to match endurance with speed, solidarity with scale, and commitment with consistency."

In his speech, which drew huge applause, he praised the Ukrainian people's resolve and the innovative response of its military, including its advanced drone capabilities.

On his two-day visit Harry is also expected to visit the de-mining HALO Trust charity, supported by his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, and spend time with Ukrainian participants of the Invictus Games Foundation he founded, which helps wounded veterans recover through sport, according to Britain's ITV.

"I am here as a soldier who understands service, as a humanitarian who has seen the human cost of conflict, and as a friend of Ukraine who believes the world must not grow used to this war or numb to its consequences," Harry said.

World

Trump Orders Military to ‘Shoot and Kill’ Iranian Small Boats Choking Strait of Hormuz

This screen grab taken from a screen recording of the MarineTraffic website on April 21, 2026, shows data visualisation of maritime traffic in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman from April 18 to April 20, amid a fragile US-Iran truce. Photo by MARINETRAFFIC.COM / AFP
This screen grab taken from a screen recording of the MarineTraffic website on April 21, 2026, shows data visualisation of maritime traffic in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman from April 18 to April 20, amid a fragile US-Iran truce. Photo by MARINETRAFFIC.COM / AFP
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Trump Orders Military to ‘Shoot and Kill’ Iranian Small Boats Choking Strait of Hormuz

This screen grab taken from a screen recording of the MarineTraffic website on April 21, 2026, shows data visualisation of maritime traffic in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman from April 18 to April 20, amid a fragile US-Iran truce. Photo by MARINETRAFFIC.COM / AFP
This screen grab taken from a screen recording of the MarineTraffic website on April 21, 2026, shows data visualisation of maritime traffic in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman from April 18 to April 20, amid a fragile US-Iran truce. Photo by MARINETRAFFIC.COM / AFP

US President Donald Trump has ordered the US military to “shoot and kill” Iranian small boats choking the Strait of Hormuz.In a social media post Thursday morning, he said the military is intensifying its mine clearing efforts in the critical waterway.

The move intensified the US-Iran standoff in the Arabian Gulf and raised questions about efforts to end the war.

Meanwhile, the US military said it seized another tanker Thursday associated with smuggling Iranian oil, the Majestic X, in the Indian Ocean, deepening confusion over efforts to end the war.

The seizure comes after a day after Iran attacked three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, capturing two of them. Ship-tracking data showed the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

The standoff between the US and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s traded oil passes in peacetime, with no end in sight.

World

Ex-Philippine President to Face Trial on Crimes Against Humanity Charges

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
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Ex-Philippine President to Face Trial on Crimes Against Humanity Charges

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Thursday confirmed crimes against humanity charges against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte for deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he allegedly oversaw while in office.

A three-judge panel found unanimously there were “substantial grounds” to believe the ex-leader was responsible for dozens of murders, first as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president.

Duterte, 80, was arrested in the Philippines last year and denies the charges against him.

In their 50-page decision, judges found that the evidence shows that Duterte “developed, disseminated and implemented” a policy “to ‘neutralize’ alleged criminals,” The Associated Press reported.

According to prosecutors, police and hit squad members carried out dozens of murders at Duterte’s behest, motivated by the promise of money or to avoid becoming targets themselves.

“For some, killing reached the level of a perverse form of competition,” deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang told the court in pretrial hearings in February.

A date for the start of the trial has not yet been set.

Duterte's lead defense lawyer Nick Kaufman told judges during the February hearings that he “stands behind his legacy resolutely, and he maintains his innocence absolutely."

Kaufman argued that the prosecution “cherry-picked” examples of Duterte's “bombastic rhetoric,” and his client’s words were never intended to incite violence.

Estimates of the death toll during Duterte’s presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported to up to 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.

Duterte has not been present in the courtroom for any hearings, having waived his right to appear. Last month judges found he was fit to stand trial, after postponing an earlier hearing over concerns about his health.

ICC prosecutors said in 2018 that they would open a preliminary investigation into the violent drug crackdowns. In a move that human rights activists say was aimed at avoiding accountability, Duterte, who was president at the time, announced a month later that the Philippines would leave the court.

On Wednesday, appeals judges rejected a request from Duterte’s legal team to throw out the case on the grounds that the court did not have jurisdiction because of the Philippine withdrawal.