Putin Rejects Trump's Vatican Visit Proposal Amid Kremlin's Accusations of Emotional Bias, Says Envoy Kellogg

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed a proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump to hold the next round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks at the Vatican. The plan, which had been put forward after the suggestion of recently appointed Pope Leo XIV, appears to have lost traction following Moscow's refusal.

Special Envoy Keith Kellogg confirmed the development during an interview on Tuesday morning, stating, "The Russians didn’t want to go there." Kellogg hinted that Geneva could be a possible alternate location for the negotiations. Despite these discussions, no date has been set for the next session, as Russia has yet to formally respond to the latest U.S.-led peace initiative and is reportedly still working on its own memorandum outlining key terms.

Tensions remain high amid ongoing violence in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently accused Moscow of "playing games" during the diplomatic process, pointing to a continued campaign of drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. In one of the most devastating strikes over the weekend, Russian forces launched 335 drones and nine cruise missiles at civilian targets across the country.

In response, Trump took to his social media platform to denounce Putin’s actions, stating, "He has gone absolutely CRAZY!" Trump expressed alarm at the escalating brutality, emphasizing, "He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I'm not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever."

Further intensifying his remarks, Trump warned that if Putin attempted to seize the entirety of Ukraine, "it will lead to the downfall of Russia." The Kremlin issued a swift rebuttal, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov describing Trump as "emotional" and acknowledging the influential role the U.S. president has played in encouraging negotiations. "This is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overload of everyone absolutely and with emotional reactions," Peskov told reporters.

Trump also directed criticism at Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of inflaming tensions through his rhetoric. "Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop," Trump remarked, though he did not specify which comments from Zelenskyy were objectionable.

Amid the charged atmosphere, Russia and Ukraine managed to arrange a significant prisoner swap, exchanging hundreds of detainees just hours after the most recent aerial assault by Moscow. However, with both sides entrenched and diplomatic efforts stalling, the path toward peace remains uncertain.