Trump Again Criticizes Putin as Ukraine War Heats Up

But US Leader Refuses to Impose New Curbs to Avoid Scuttling Potential Peace Deal

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WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/KYIV - US President Donald Trump again expressed frustration on May 28 with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the intensifying Ukraine conflict, a day after warning that Mr. Putin was "playing with fire" by resisting ceasefire talks while escalating drone and missile attacks.

But Mr. Trump also told reporters in the Oval Office that he was not yet prepared to impose new sanctions on Russia because he did not want the penalties to scuttle a potential peace deal.

Russia has proposed holding the next round of direct talks with Ukraine on June 2 in Istanbul, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on May 28.

There was no immediate response from Kyiv.

The public squabble between the US and Russia has unfolded as the three-year-old war heats up, with swarms of drones launched by both Russia and Ukraine and Russian troops advancing at key points along the front.

Delegates from Russia and Ukraine met earlier in May in Istanbul under pressure from Mr. Trump to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II, but the talks failed to yield the ceasefire that Kyiv and its Western allies have pushed for.

Moscow said certain conditions needed to be met before a ceasefire agreement.