Donald Trump has questioned Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s competence and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia which is “20 times” its size.
The US president also said “millions of people are dead because of three people” – blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin, his White House predecessor Joe Biden, and Mr Zelenskyy, in that order.
It comes a day after 35 people, including two children, were killed by two Russian missiles that struck the northeastern city of Sumy as Ukrainians gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday in what was the deadliest strike on the country so far this year, according to officials.
Image: Damaged cars at the site of a Russian missile strike on Sumy. Pic: Reuters
Speaking in the White House’s Oval Office during a meeting with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, Mr Trump told reporters: “If Biden were competent, and if Zelenskyy were competent, and I don’t know that he is…
“There was no way that war should never have been allowed to happen.”
He added: “Biden could have stopped it, and Zelenskyy could have stopped it, and Putin should have never started it.”
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Asked about Mr Zelenskyy, Mr Trump said: “When you start a war you’ve got to know you can win the war.
“You don’t start a war against somebody that’s 20 times your size. And then hope that people give you some missiles.”
Mr Trump said he was the first to give Ukraine Javelin missiles.
Image: Firefighters work at the site of a Russian missile strike in Sumy on Sunday. Pic: Reuters
“Millions of people are dead because of three people,” Mr Trump added.
“Let’s say Putin number one, let’s say Biden, who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelenskyy.
“And all I can do is try and stop it – that’s all I want to do. I want to stop the killing.
“And I think we’re doing well in that regard. I think you’ll have some very good proposals very soon.”
Mr Zelenskyy has called for a global response to the Sumy attack, in which more than 100 people were injured, saying the first strike hit university buildings while the second exploded above street level.
On Monday, Ukraine’s air force said a new Russian missile and guided bombs had targeted Sumy, but gave no indication of casualties or damage. Public broadcaster Suspilne reported an explosion in the city, with no further details.
‘It’s a horrible thing’
Asked about Sunday’s Sumy attack which is near the Russian border, Mr Trump earlier said on board Air Force One: “I think it was terrible and I was told they made a mistake, but I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing.”
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0:52
Russia ‘made a mistake’
When questioned about the incident, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s forces only strike military targets.
The strike targeted a gathering of senior military officers, according to the defence ministry in Moscow which accused Kyiv of using civilians as shields by holding military meetings in the city centre.
The ministry also claimed to have killed more than 60 troops. Russia did not provide any evidence to support its claims.
Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski, whose country currently holds the EU’s presidency, said that recent attacks are “Russia’s mocking answer” to Kyiv’s agreement to a ceasefire proposed by the US administration over a month ago.
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2:26
Missile attack on Sumy
What’s the latest on proposed ceasefire?
The attack on Sumy followed a missile strike on 4 April on Mr Zelenskyy’s home city of Kryvyi Rih that killed some 20 people, including nine children.
Russia and Ukraine’s senior diplomats have accused each other of violating a tentative US-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure.
Ukraine has endorsed a broader US ceasefire proposal, but Russia has effectively blocked it by imposing far-reaching conditions.
Mr Putin has said he wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join NATO, Russia to control the entirety of the four Ukrainian regions it has claimed as its own, and the size of the Ukrainian army to be limited. He has also made clear he wants Western sanctions eased.
In a stark and direct intervention, Martin Griffiths, the former UN humanitarian chief, has described the situation in Gaza as genocide.
The statement, made during an interview I conducted with Griffiths on The World, marks one of the most pointed accusations yet from a figure known to be deeply embedded in the world of international politics and diplomacy.
“I think now we’ve got to the point this is unequivocal. Of course it is genocide. Just as it is weaponising aid.
“We don’t need to look behind ourselves to see that’s the case. That should encourage us even more because we, of course, all doubted whether it would come to that level of definition.
“We all doubted whether famine is actually there. I think starvation is killing people. That’s bad enough. We don’t have to worry about famine, which is obviously there lurking in the shadows.
“Also, genocide… of course that’s what has happened. We only need to look at the statements made. Prime Minister Netanyahuhas the virtue of being very clear about his objectives.”
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3:14
Ex-Israeli aide dismisses genocide claims
His choice of words is extraordinary – not just for its gravity, but because it’s Griffiths who is saying it.
A veteran diplomat with decades of experience navigating complex international crises, Griffiths is known for his calm and thoughtful demeanour – not for inflammatory language.
For him to use the term “genocide” in a television interview signals a significant shift in how some within the international system are now interpreting events on the ground in Gaza – 20 months since Israel launched its war.
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Just weeks earlier, Tom Fletcher, another respected former British ambassador and current UN humanitarian chief, came close to using the phrase during a UN Security Council session.
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He said: “What more evidence do you need now? Will you act decisively to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law? Or will you say instead: ‘we did all we could?'”
Whilst he stopped short, his tone showed a clear change in how leading international figures now view the direction of Israeli military operations in Gaza; staggering civilian deaths, and the statements made by Israeli officials prosecuting this war.
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Lawyers representing Israel against accusations brought by South Africa to the International Court of Justice last year – accusing its actions in Gaza of amounting to genocide – called the claims “unfounded”, “absurd” and amounting to “libel”.
They went on to say Israel respected international law and had a right to defend itself.
Now 41.2% of Europe finds itself in some form of drought, according to the latest update from the EU’s European Drought Observatory, which covers 11 to 20 May.
It is most acute in pockets of south-eastern Spain, Cyprus, Greece and Albania, where the strongest “alert” category has been issued, as well as parts of Poland and Ukraine.
But broad stretches of northern and eastern Europe through France, Germany, Poland and Ukraine also drying up, sowing concerns about crop yields.
On Thursday, the UK’s Environment Agency officially declared a drought in North West England after river and reservoir levels were licked away by a dry spring.
Image: More than 40% of Europe was in drought as of 11-20 May 2025. Pic: CEMS / EDO
Image: Heat was record high in March in Europe. The image on the right shows the south of the continent was much wetter than average and the north much drier. Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service
Greece tourism is ‘unsustainable’
In Greece, “overtourism” from millions flocking to its beaches adds further pressure to water supplies, said Nikitas Mylopoulos, professor of water resource management at Thessaly University.
“The tourist sector is unsustainable and there is no planning… leading to a tremendous rise in water demand in summer,” he told Sky News.
“The islands have an intense problem of drought and water scarcity.”
Islands like Santorini and Mykonos are now forced to ship in water from Athens or desalination plants to provide for showers and swimming pools. In the past, many residents could make do with local methods like rainwater harvesting.
But agriculture is a far bigger drain on the country’s water, with waste rife and policies lacking, said Prof Mylopoulos.
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1:55
‘Tropical nights’ soar in European hotspots
Wildfire season could be ‘particularly difficult’
This year’s hot and dry conditions are also fuelling the risk of yet another fierce wildfire season in Greece.
Last week civil protection minister Ioannis Kefalogiannis warned of a “particularly difficult” summer.
He said a record 18,000 firefighters have been deployed and the drone fleet almost doubled in a bid to combat fires being fuelled by a hotter climate.
Droughts and their causes are more complicated, but scientists at World Weather Attribution say global warming is exacerbating drought in some parts of the world, including around the Mediterranean.
Image: A drought was declared in northwest England on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
The International Hydropower Association said drought and intense rain in Europe are pushing power plants to “operate at the limits of their existing equipment”.
Extreme weather costs the EU about €28.3bn (£23.8bn) in lost crops and livestock per year, according to insurance firm Howden.
Hayley Fowler, professor of climate change impacts at Newcastle University, said: “With global warming, we expect more prolonged and intense droughts and heatwaves punctuated by more intense rainfall, possibly causing flash floods.
“In recent years, we have experienced more of these atmospheric blocks, causing record heat and persistent drought, as well as severe flooding in other locations in Europe.
“Recent months have been no different, with prolonged dry conditions and heatwaves in northern Europe and floods in southern Europe.”
At least 117 people have died and others are still missing after heavy flooding in Nigeria, an emergency official said.
Authorities initially said 21 people had died but this figure has today risen significantly.
Media reports quoting local government officials said a dam collapse has worsened the situation.
Ibrahim Hussaini, head of Niger State Emergency Management Agency, said some 3,000 houses were underwater in two communities.
Videos posted on social media show floodwater sweeping through neighbourhoods, with rooftops barely visible above the brown currents. One clip shows a tanker floating through a town.
Image: A tanker is swept away by floodwaters
The chairman of the Mokwa local government area suggested poor infrastructure has worsened the impact of the flooding.
Jibril Muregi has appealed to the government to start “long overdue” construction of waterways in the area under a climate resilience project.
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Image: Water appears to be flowing over a dam behind the town
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In a similar occurrence last September, torrential rains and a dam collapse in Nigeria’s northeastern Maiduguri caused severe flooding, leaving at least 30 people dead and displacing millions.
Nigeriais prone to flooding during the rainy season, which began in April – and flooding is becoming more common and extreme as the climate warms.
Hotter air is thirstier and can hold more moisture – about 7% more for every 1C warmer – meaning it unleashes heavier flooding when it rains.
Violent rain, which killed hundreds of people in Nigeria during 2022, was made at least 80 times more likely and 20% more intense by climate change, analysis by World Weather Attribution found.