Russia accuses G7 of "bombarding" Trump with harmful ideas at summit

A senior Kremlin aide said on Thursday that European leaders likely instilled harmful ideas in Donald Trump during this week's G7 summit, but that the US president is a strong leader who sticks to his own ideas.

Trump said Russia should make peace with Ukraine after a "very good" meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, in comments that sparked cautious optimism among G7 leaders that a peace deal could be reached.

Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday (18) that he believed Trump had been misinformed about the situation in Ukraine during the summit and that Moscow was still awaiting a visit from Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner - although a date for this had not yet been set.

"It can be assumed that Trump was bombarded with... harmful ideas. We understand that the Europeans are exerting a counterproductive influence here," Ushakov told Russian state TV.

"Trump is a strong politician and stands by his opinions. He has commented on some things and kept others to himself. Let's see how things develop," he said.

Zelensky and his European allies have made clear to Trump that they believe Ukraine's battlefield situation has improved thanks to drone incursions into Russian territory. Ushakov said this was "categorically false."

What is Oreshnik, a hypersonic missile used in a major attack against Kiev?

Source: CNN