“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing,” Trump wrote in a social media post a day after saying Ukraine’s leader was hampering peace talks on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When asked about the Russian strikes on Kyiv at a briefing earlier on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was continuing to hit “military and military-adjacent targets.”

Trump’s rare rebuke of Putin followed his criticism of President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday for saying Ukraine would not recognise Russia’s occupation of Crimea – a longtime Kyiv stance.

“This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia,” Trump said in a social media post.

Trump, who argued with Zelensky in a disastrous Oval Office meeting in March, said Crimea was lost years ago “and is not even a point of discussion.”