How Much More Blood must Ukrainians Shed before Trump Realizes that Putin only Wants to Kill Ukrainians

Every new day in Moscow’s war against Ukraine brings new waves of Russian drones and missiles hitting Ukrainian cities, apartment buildings, energy infrastructure, supermarkets, schools, churches, buses and trains, killing innocent men, women and children.

President Donald J. Trump, just like he has done with Iran and other hot spots, claims to believe the Russian war versus Ukraine coming to an end. The picture on the ground and in the air is markedly different.  As he pushes President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept all of Russian fuhrer Putin’s unacceptable, damaging demands, Putin is launching daytime and nighttime attacks on Ukrainian cities. It’s noteworthy to point out that Trump’s pressure on Zelenskyy does not compare with the silence Putin is feeling from the American president.

According to Ukrainian news sources, Russian forces attacked Kyiv and other cities with ballistic missiles and drones early Thursday morning, April 16, resulting in deaths and dozens of injuries.

More than 700 drones and missiles were launched in multiple waves at cities across the country, killing at least 18 people in what local officials described as the deadliest attack in months.

The State Emergency Service (DSNS) reported on Telegram:

“Kyiv: 4 dead, including a child, 21 injured as a result of Russian shelling. Destruction recorded in Podil, Obolon, Shevchenkivskyi and Desnyanskyi districts.”

The number of casualties has been rising throughout the day, reaching seven dead and 64 injured.

At 2:36 AM Kyiv Post correspondents in various areas of the capital heard loud explosions as Russia launched the first wave of ballistic missiles.

Eleven-year-old Maksym Veremchuk never woke up from his nightly sleep. He was in his bed when he was killed during a Russian strike on Kyiv on April 16.

Maksym's father, Ihor, said the family did not hear the air-raid warning.

"The missile hit, and it killed my son in that room. My other son, who was sleeping by the window, is alive. But he was sleeping a little further away. We hadn't even heard the air-raid warning when it all happened. We didn't have time to react and run out," Ihor said.

Nearby hotels and residential buildings also sustained heavy damage. Elsewhere, a one-story house was destroyed, and two people, including a child, were rescued.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said four people had died in the capital, while seven people were killed in Odesa and two in the southeastern city of Dnipro, where Russian attacks set residential buildings ablaze.

Zelenskyy said in the wake of the overnight strikes that Putin is a “truly global threat.”

Appearing in the Netherlands to receive the International Four Freedoms Award, Zelenskyy said: “Today, this is definitely not unprecedented. Putin knows exactly what he's doing. Exactly. And who he resembles.

"And he's rightly compared to Nazis, he has the same expansionist ambitions, he wants to decide the fate of nations.”

He went on: “Russia has carried its war ideas as far as Syria and Africa. This is a truly global threat."

The latest strikes left cities and towns in Ukraine’s southeast without power, including Mykolayiv and Kherson.

Russian troops have been carrying out missile and drone strikes on a number of regions of Ukraine for the second day in a row. In addition to Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Kharkiv were under fire.

In Dnipropetrovsk four people were killed and 34 injured in Russian strikes.

Oleksandra Hanzha, head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram said: “Fires broke out at several locations in Dnipro as a result of a large-scale missile and drone attack yesterday evening and overnight… Sadly, two people have been killed and 30 injured."

Earlier, buildings of two universities were damaged in a Russian attack on Dnipro on the night April 14-15 – academic and accommodation buildings of the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technology and Dnipro Polytechnic.

Trump had to be probed by a RFE/RL reporter Alex Raufoglu, before he said the attack was “terrible.”

Asked whether the war had the potential to drag on for years, Trump said he believed a deal could still be reached.

“Well, possibly, but I think a deal could be reached – possibly,” he said. “It would be foolish not to. I mean, if we’re close to a deal to end it, yes, I would do that. But we’re close to a deal.”

Do Trump’s haphazard words mean they’re close to a deal? Have Ukraine’s demands been satisfied? Zelenskyy cannot sign the accord if all of his demands haven’t been met. No two ways about that.

UCCA Condemns Vice-President Vance Remarks, Demands Reversal of US Retreat from Ukraine

The following statement was issued by the UCCA on April 16, 2026.

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), representing over 2 million Americans of Ukrainian descent, strongly condemns Vice-President JD Vance’s recent remarks at a Turning Point USA event, where he declared that halting US funding for Ukraine is among the “proudest” actions he has taken since entering government.  

At a time when Ukraine continues to defend its people, its sovereignty, and the fundamental principles of democracy against russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion, such a statement is not merely misguided—it is a moral failure. To take pride in withdrawing critical support from a nation under relentless attack is to turn one’s back on victims of war, embolden an aggressor, and erode the moral authority of the United States on the global stage.

This rhetoric reflects an alarming and unacceptable alignment with narratives that benefit russia’s genocidal regime. It signals to the world that this administration is willing to abandon those fighting for freedom and democracy while effectively rewarding violence, repression, and territorial conquest. Such a posture is not neutrality— it is a green light for continued atrocities.

The UCCA calls on Vice President Vance to immediately retract and apologize for these indefensible remarks and demands that the Trump Administration reverse this dangerous and short-sighted policy without delay. A December 2025 survey by the Reagan Institute makes clear that a decisive majority of Americans support continued assistance to Ukraine and recognize russia as an existential threat to the United States. Disregarding this reality is not only politically irresponsible—it is a direct affront to the will of the American people and a failure of leadership at a moment of global consequence. The United States must restore and expand its support for Ukraine, reaffirm its unwavering commitment to defending democracy, and categorically reject any position that enables or legitimizes russia’s ongoing genocidal war.

There can be no ambiguity in the face of such aggression. Standing with Ukraine is not only a moral obligation – it is the US’ national security interests. The consequences of failure will be measured in innocent lives lost, authoritarian regimes emboldened, and the unraveling of the democratic world order.

The UCCA will continue to advocate relentlessly for policies that uphold justice, accountability, and unwavering support for Ukraine in its fight for survival and freedom. 

Vance Tickles Putin with Talk of Ending US Support for Ukraine 

Only Vladimir Putin and his Russian junta of cutthroats would be pleased by any reduction of US help for Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian and other news media, Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday, April 14, that ending US funding for Ukraine’s war effort was a “key achievement” of the current administration. The Grand Old Party is not so grand with the vice-president supporting an end to Washington’s support for Ukraine as well as his public baseless jousting with the Pope. Ending US support for Ukraine opens the door for Russia to sweep across Europe up to the Atlantic.

The vice president told a Turning Point USA rally in Georgia on Tuesday that he still backed the decision to end nearly all new weapons deliveries for Kyiv, leaving Europe to pay for vital aid instead. Fortunately, Europe is aware of its historic mission and is standing up to the plate.

"I still believe that, obviously, and it's one of the things I'm proudest that we've done in this administration is we've told Europe that if you want to buy weapons, you can, but the United States is not buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore,” he said.

Referencing a clash with a Ukrainian American over his push to withdraw funding for Ukraine, Vance offensively and jingoistically  added: “Being an American means caring about Americans first, and that’s the perspective we should be taking in his immigration policy.”

“We have told Europe that if you want to buy weapons, you can, but the United States is not buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore,” Vance said.

He added that the US is “out of that business,” describing the decision as “a very good thing.”

According to Vance, the Ukrainian American told him: “You need to support my country.”

“I said, ‘Sir, with all due respect, if you’re an American, your country is the United States of America, not a place that you immigrated from,’” Vance said.

The vice-president failed to show an understanding of what it means to be a Ukrainian American (no hyphen). For generations, Ukrainians who emigrated to America from Ukraine planted their roots here that grew into tall trees that paid tribute to their heritage while, for instance, dying in numerous wars for America.

US policy toward Ukraine shifted after Trump’ return with his administration moving to scale back military and financial assistance to Kyiv. Washington halted new aid packages and signaled it would no longer play a leading role in supplying weapons to Ukraine, urging European allies to take on greater responsibility for supporting Kyiv.

The change marked a significant departure from previous US policy under Joe Biden, whose administration had provided tens of billions of dollars in military, financial, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The current administration of President Trump has shown a perverted idea of its global responsibility, publicly shedding its historical mission of defending America from foreign enemies, absolving historical guilt, standing up to Russian threats and aggression, defending the captive nations of Russian enslavement, and aiding those peoples to regain their independence, statehood and freedom.

This abandonment and  betrayal by Trump, Vance and other GOP insiders will certainly not be forgotten on Election Day by American voters with ties to the captive nations.