“President Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin had ‘gone absolutely CRAZY’ by unleashing a massive aerial attack on Ukraine and said he was weighing new sanctions on Moscow, though he also scolded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Trump posted the remark on social media as sleeping Ukrainians woke to a third consecutive night of huge Russian aerial attacks…

“Speaking to reporters at the airport in Morristown, New Jersey, Trump said of Putin: ‘I don't know what's wrong with him. What the hell happened to him? Right? He's killing a lot of people. I'm not happy about that.’ He raised the possibility of imposing more sanctions on Russia in response to the ongoing attacks. In the biggest aerial assault of the war, Russia pummelled Ukrainian cities and other targets with at least 367 drones and missiles the previous night into Sunday.” Reuters

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‍‍Many on both sides argue that Putin is not interested in peace and urge additional sanctions:

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‍“There’s nothing CRAZY, or even crazy, about Russia shooting missiles and drones into Ukrainian cities and killing lots of people. Such attacks are not uncommon in modern warfare. Putin has ordered them for the rational purpose of demoralizing his enemy with the hope of pounding it into submission. He’s playing to win…

“If Russia is interested in a settlement, its stepped-up killing of Ukrainian civilians might provide the enemy with more incentive to grant concessions. If Russia isn’t interested in a settlement, which I think is the case, the stepped-up attacks might frustrate Trump, causing him to wash his hands of the ‘peace process.’ And given the lack of appetite within the administration to keep spending money on Ukraine, Putin can reasonably believe that if/when Trump ends peace talks, he will either end or cut back on U.S. aid to Ukraine.”

‍Paul Mirengoff, Substack

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‍“As long as Putin thinks he can prevail militarily, he will not cut a deal to end the war. When Trump continues to criticize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on social media, Putin has reason to think he can drive a wedge between the U.S. and Ukraine. And when Vice President JD Vance says ‘we’re more than open to walking away’ if a deal cannot be reached, he, too, incentivizes Russian foot-dragging…

“The U.S. should not bow to Russia’s recalcitrance and abandon peace talks. The conflict in Ukraine is the proxy war of our time between the free world and autocratic regimes that disdain America and Europe. North Korea provided some of the missiles that rained down over the weekend. Iran designed the drones. Trade with China pays for weapons.”

‍Editorial Board, Washington Post

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‍“Russia’s position is fragile. Its forces are suffering atrocious casualties to make incremental territorial gains. At home, fiscal buffers are thinning dangerously. Oil and gas revenues fell 12% year-on-year in April… With almost 40% of government spending going to defense, the Kremlin is draining its National Wealth Fund to plug gaps…

“To change Putin’s calculus, the US and Europe will have to ensure the costs of the war outweigh its benefits… The most effective way to gain leverage against Putin would be to lower the Group of Seven price cap on Russian oil exports as European nations are proposing — and enforce it. Every $10 drop in the oil price shaves an estimated half a percentage point off Russian gross domestic product, depriving the Kremlin of billions of dollars in budget revenues.”

‍Editorial Board, Bloomberg

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‍“We recognize that all Biden’s sanctions, and the Europeans’, haven’t yet made Putin change course, but they flinched from imposing secondary sanctions — on the nations actively enabling Moscow’s war machine — that could prompt Beijing, in particular, into insisting Russia finally seek peace with Ukraine…

“Trump will have plenty of support if he opts to tighten the screws: Sen. Chuck Grassley on Monday became the 81st senator to sign on to a bipartisan sanctions bill. The president’s other option is to boost aid to Ukraine; maybe a one-two punch is the best way to get through to Vlad. With Putin’s minion now practically mocking Trump, we see no other way to get the killing stopped.”

‍Editorial Board, New York Post‍

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‍Other opinions below.