Headlines
Ukraine: You’re Playing with Fire, Trump Warns Putin
US President, Donald Trump, warned Vladimir Putin Tuesday that he is “playing with fire,” taking a fresh jab at his Russian counterpart as Washington weighs new sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war.
Trump’s latest broadside showed his frustration with stalled ceasefire talks and comes two days after he called the Kremlin leader “absolutely CRAZY” following a major drone attack on Ukraine.
Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, insisted it is responding to escalating Ukrainian strikes on its own civilians and accused Kyiv of trying to “disrupt” peace efforts.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war have intensified in recent weeks, but Putin has been accused of stalling peace talks.
“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 said on his Truth Social network.
Trump did not specify what the “really bad” things were.But the Wall Street Journal and CNN both reported that the Republican are now considering fresh sanctions as early as this week.
Trump told reporters on Sunday he was “absolutely” weighing such a move.
The White House said Trump was keeping “all options” open.
“This war is Joe Biden’s fault, and President Trump has been clear he wants to see a negotiated peace deal. President Trump has also smartly kept all options on the table,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told AFP in a statement.
Biden, Trump’s Democratic predecessor, imposed sweeping sanctions after Russia’s invasion.
Trump has so far avoided what he says could be “devastating” sanctions on Russian banks.
But Trump’s recent rebukes mark a sharp change from his previous attitude towards Putin, of whom he often speaks with admiration.
His frustration at his failure to end a war he said he could solve within 24 hours boiled over at the weekend after Russia’s drone barrage killed at least 13 people.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump posted.
Russia has kept up attacks despite a phone call eight days ago in which Trump said Putin had agreed to immediately start talks.
Moscow did not react to Trump’s comments on Tuesday, but it earlier sought to blame Ukraine for the impasse.
“Kyiv, with the support of some European countries, has taken a series of provocative steps to thwart negotiations initiated by Russia,” the Russian defense ministry said.
Civilians including women and children were injured in what it said were Ukrainian drone strikes. Russian air defenses destroyed 2,331 Ukrainian drones between May 20 and 27, it said.
Fresh drone attacks were also reported overnight to Wednesday.Russian authorities said almost 150 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted, including 33 heading toward Moscow.
Ukraine said it is Russia that targeted civilians.
“We need to end this eternal waiting — Russia needs more sanctions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said Tuesday on Telegram.
US lawmakers have stepped up calls for Trump to slap sanctions on Russia.Veteran Republican Senator Chuck Grassley called for strong measures to let Putin know it was “game over.” Two other senators, Republican Lindsay Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, also called for heavy “secondary” sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil, gas and raw materials.
Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg told Fox News that the next peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, if they happen, would likely take place in Geneva after Moscow rejected the Vatican as a venue.The aim would then be to get Trump, Putin and Zelensky together “and hammer this thing out,” he added.
The Swiss government would not confirm that it would host the talks.
“Switzerland remains ready to offer its good offices,” the foreign ministry told AFP in a statement, adding that it was “in contact with all parties.”
Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks in more than three years in Istanbul in early May.
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
