Trump rejects Putin capture idea from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy

President Donald Trump walked back Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s suggestion that the United States could capture Russian President Vladimir Putin after Zelensky pointed to Washington’s recent action against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

While Trump abandoned the idea of ​​such an operation, he expressed frustration with the overwhelming war and its failure to end the war. Trump has repeatedly said during the campaign that he could end the war on his first day back in office, but despite talks with both Zelenskyy and Putin, finding a solution remains elusive.

“I don’t think it will be necessary,” Trump said in response to a question from Fox News’ Peter Doocy during a meeting with executives of U.S. oil companies at the White House on Friday.

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“I’ve always had a great relationship with him. I’m very disappointed,” Trump said of Putin. “I finished eight battles. I thought this one would be in the middle of the pack, or perhaps one of the easier ones.”

Trump said the conflict continues to inflict particularly heavy damage on Russian forces and that Moscow’s economy has also suffered.

“And last month they lost 31,000 people, mostly Russian soldiers,” Trump said, adding that the Russian economy was “doing badly.”

“I think we’re going to solve this problem,” Trump said. “I wish we could do this faster because a lot of people are dying.”

TRUMP SAYS UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY HAVEN’T READ THE PEACE PLAN YET

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen in the Kremlin at a time when Russia continues its war against Ukraine and tensions with NATO are high. (Ramil Sitdikov/Pool/Reuters)

“But there is a large military population,” he continued. “If 30,000, 31,000 soldiers die in one month, 27,000 in the previous month, 26,000 in the previous month. This is a bad thing.”

Trump also criticized the Biden administration for sending what he said was $350 billion to Ukraine and argued that the United States should be able to recoup the costs through a rare earth minerals agreement contingent on continued support. He also claimed that the United States was not losing money in the conflict, saying Washington profits from arms sales to NATO allies, and noted NATO’s commitment to increase defense and security spending from 2% of GDP to 5% by 2035.

“We’re not losing any money. We’re making a lot of money.”

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During Russia’s attack on Ukraine, apartment buildings were hit by a Russian missile attack late yesterday in the city of Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine on January 9, 2026. (Stringer/Reuters)

Zelenskyy’s comments came after Russia said it had fired its new nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile as part of a massive overnight attack on Ukraine, a claim that Kiev disputed. Ukrainian officials said that hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles and many missiles were located at the dam, hitting energy facilities and civilian infrastructure, killing at least four people.

Zelenskyy called on the United States and the international community to respond, saying Russia should bear the consequences of attacks targeting ordinary civilians.

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.