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US and Russia's war of words throws their relations into spotlight as US president warns his Russian counterpart 'playing with fire'

Global Times

By Chen Qingqing Published: May 28, 2025 08:30 PM

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict shows no immediate signs of ending, US President Donald Trump has issued a series of sharply worded posts, taking direct aim at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In perhaps his harshest rhetoric yet against Putin, Trump lashed out at the Kremlin on Tuesday saying that Putin is "playing with fire," which is a reference to Russia's escalating bombardment of Ukraine in recent days despite of Washington's efforts to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, the Washington Post reported.

"What Vladimir Putin doesn't realize is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He's playing with fire!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Tuesday morning, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

In response to Trump's latest post saying Putin "playing with fire", Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said "Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and 'really bad things' happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!" according to a post Medvedev published on Wednesday on X platform.

Trump on Sunday already made harsh remarks on both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this week, Xinhua reported.

The frustration appears to have boiled over this week, the Washington Post reported, noting that Trump also suggested on Tuesday that he had been shielding Putin from tough consequences related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov chalked Trump's harsh rhetoric up to "emotional overload" experienced by the US president in light of the very complicated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine that have gotten underway, RT reported.

Trump's recent criticism of Russia is closely tied to the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict, particularly the intensifying drone warfare between the two countries as Russian missile and drone attacks have resulted in Ukrainian civilian casualties, triggering growing public and political pressure within the US, Zhang Hong, a research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"Having previously promised to 'quickly end the conflict,' Trump is now facing growing pressure," Zhang said, noting that facing scrutiny from both political opponents and media, he is compelled to respond, a move driven by domestic political considerations.

The Russian Armed Forces delivered a series of strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial sites over the past few days in retaliation to Kiev's massive UAV attacks on Russia's civilian facilities, TASS reported, citing the Defense Ministry of Russia on Tuesday.

Citing people familiar with the matter, CNN reported on Tuesday that the US government is considering moving ahead with new sanctions on Moscow in the coming days as the US leader vents his fury at the state of the conflict.

Politico reported on Tuesday that Trump is losing patience with Putin, quoting an unnamed administration official that "Putin is getting dangerously close to burning the golden bridge that Trump has set out before him." And several Republican lawmakers are now encouraging Trump's sanction threats, Politico said.

The latest bitter exchanges between the US and Russia also happened amid Moscow and Washington are coordinating the details of a previously agreed prisoner exchange, Xinhua reported.

During a press briefing after his talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump had agreed to arrange a prisoner swap during their latest call. "For obvious reasons, the details are being coordinated by the relevant authorities," Lavrov said, according to Xinhua.

Lavrov also said on Wednesday that Russia will announce the next round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in the nearest future, Reuters reported.

Despite the harsh tone of Trump's remarks, they are unlikely to cause fundamental damage to US-Russia relations in the absence of concrete sanctions or punitive measures, Zhang said, noting that the interactions between the two countries are expected to remain in a fragile but relatively still manageable state.