President Donald Trump said he plans to make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday amid Vladimir Putin's continued attacks on Ukraine.

Is there a direct link between what US President Donald Trump says and what Russian President Vladimir Putin does? Certainly, the harsh words and bitter violence of recent days in Ukraine suggest the answer is maybe.

An audio recording from 2024 run by CNN in which Trump said he had threatened Putin with bombing Moscow if he entered Ukraine, plus the U.S. leader's latest criticism, could mean a tougher stance by Washington toward Moscow is on the cards.

Mr. Trump has long praised Mr. Putin as a tough-minded leader, and has been scornful of Mr. Zelensky. Earlier this year, he scolded the Ukrainian president in a remarkable Oval Office encounter, calling him insufficiently grateful for American support.

President Donald Trump seems to have learned the lesson painfully gleaned by all his 21st-century predecessors: You can’t reset US relations with Vladimir Putin.

US president softens his rhetoric but it is unclear whether this will result in tangible support in the war against Russia

The truth is, he believed me 10%,' Trump said of the threat he made to Putin that he would bomb Moscow if Russia invaded Ukraine.