Putin 'fears the US' but not Europe, says Trump, as Russia strikes Ukraine overnight
Speaking to reporters, the President said that Putin does not fear Europe, and denied US plans to capture Putin in a similar manner to Venezuela's Maduro.
In his latest dig at Washington's allies, Donald Trump has said that Vladimir Putin is "not afraid of Europe", as Russia continues to bombard Ukraine overnight.
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Speaking to reporters, the President said that Putin only "fears the US", and repeated claims that Europe has "fallen behind" and was no longer "recognisable" due to immigration.
“Putin is not afraid of Europe. He's afraid of the United States of America as led by me. There's no fear of Europe," he said.
Trump went on to add that a mission to capture the Russian President, similar to the US operation to seize Nicolas Maduro, would “not be necessary”.
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The comments from the US President came as Russia fired just shy of 280 missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight, killing at least four, according to the Ukrainian military.
It is understood that 244 of the missiles and drones were shot down by Ukraine.
The attack followed a warning hours earlier from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who warned the nation about a potential large-scale offensive by Russia, and urged people to take shelter when asked.
Russia has been internationally condemned for their use of a medium-range hypersonic missile in their attacks on Ukraine, firing the Oreshnik missile near the Eastern border.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said that firing the missile so close to the EU and Nato border posed a “grave threat” to European security.