Frenemy To Enemy? Trump Shares Brutal Op-Ed Accusing Putin Of 'Shedding Crocodile Tears'

US President Donald Trump shared an op-ed from The New York Post that severely condemned Russia's head of state Vladimir Putin amid reports of the country being less flexible in its negotiations with Ukraine to end the war.

The op-ed said that Putin had chose "lies, hatred, and death" with regards to the Kremlin's claims that Ukraine had sent drones to Putin's private residence to assassinate him, and hence would be less likely to compromise. "His victory is neither imminent nor inevitable. Spare us his crocodile tears and turn up the heat," it added.

Trump shared a link to the article with the headline on his social media platform Truth Social and has not written anything else. This move has been interpreted by reports as an endorsement of the content within the op-ed.

It is also likely pointing towards a tougher stance from the United States on Russia as the article stated that Putin was stonewalling attempts to reach a peace deal and called for a firmer hand from Washington as a response.

The op-ed pointed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's efforts in brokering a peace deal at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence and making compromises. It also mentioned Trump's plans to visit Ukraine to lobby for its parliament to yield territory as examples of flexibility which Putin did not reciprocate.

It further pointed to reports of Russia's own attacks on Ukrainian civilians as well assassination attempts against Zelensky from Kremlin to allege hypocrisy on Putin's part.

“After all, Russia launched 131 drones on Christmas at Kyiv and other cities, killing seven civilians. Civilians. The Kremlin specifically targets apartment buildings and power plants to punish the ordinary people of Ukraine,” the article said.

“It’s rich that Putin, who has waged a brutal war for nearly four years, believes that any violence in his vicinity merits special outrage," it added.

The op-ed argued that the drone strike against them was likely to have "never happened" pointing to a lack of evidence from Russia and Ukraine's denial of involvement.

It also accused Russia of "spitting in America's eye" for not taking a more diplomatic route in peace negotiations and recommended that the US move away from concessions and carry a "bigger stick."

"Despite his defiance, Putin’s actions smack of a deteriorating internal situation. His economy is stagnating. Propaganda is flailing as soldiers return with missing limbs," the piece said.