On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with his phone conversation with Vladimir Putin regarding the conflict in Ukraine, stating that the Russian President seems intent on continuing violence.

“It’s an extremely difficult situation. As I mentioned, I was quite displeased with my discussion with President Putin. He appears to want to escalate the violence and persist in harming civilians, which is unacceptable,” Trump remarked to journalists while on Air Force One.

He also suggested that he might finally be considering implementing stricter sanctions against Russia, after refraining from doing so for the past six months in an attempt to convince Putin to cease hostilities.

“We frequently discuss sanctions,” Trump noted. “He is aware that they might be forthcoming.”

Additionally, Trump revealed that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a “very strategic conversation” that day, amidst rising concerns in Kyiv about the delivery of U.S. military assistance.

Earlier, Zelensky mentioned that both leaders had committed to enhancing Ukraine’s air defense systems, especially following Russia’s most extensive drone and missile attacks since the start of the invasion.

In a separate call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the same day, Trump indicated they had talked about the possibility of sending Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine, although he had not finalized the decision.

Merz expressed that protective measures are essential, according to Trump.