Washington In an interview that aired Thursday night, President Donald Trump implied that Ukraine shouldn’t have resisted when Russia seized it.
Trump said, “Zelenskyy was fighting a much bigger entity, much bigger, much more powerful,” to Sean Hannity of Fox News. “He shouldn t have done that, because we could have made a deal.”
In the Fox News interview, Trump restated his claim that Zelenskyy should have struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to prevent the war.
“I could have made that deal so easily, and Zelenskyy decided that ‘I want to fight,'” Trump stated.
Trump continued by contrasting the quantity of tanks in each nation, highlighting Russia’s superiority.
Trump remarked, “You don’t fight those,”
When asked how Trump believes Ukraine should have responded to Russia’s invasion, a White House official did not immediately provide a response. A request for comment from the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington was also not immediately answered.
In February 2022, Ukraine, an ally of the United States, was attacked by Russia, an enemy of the country. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people died.
Joe Biden, the former president who was in office when Russia launched its war, has repeatedly reaffirmed his support for Ukraine, urging aid packages for the struggling nation and applauding Zelenskyy’s leadership. Shortly after Russia invaded, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on the country, citing the conflict and other problems.
Zelenskyy is “no angel,” according to Trump, who has adopted a radically different stance, adding in the Fox News interview that he “shouldn’t have allowed this war to happen.” Additionally, Trump threatened to impose “massive tariffs” and “big sanctions” on Russia if it did not act to “settle this war soon.”
According to Trump, the battle will be over in a day. There are no indications, though, that it is getting any closer to ending.
When Trump met with Zelenskyy in September, he promised to try to reach a ceasefire agreement “that’s good for both sides.”
“We’re going to work very much with both parties to try and get this settled and get it worked out,” Trump said prior to their meeting.
During a campaign event that same month, Trump reportedly called Putin “no angel.”
The remarks were made during a two-part interview with Fox News that was taped on Wednesday. The interview’s second segment, which featured Trump’s remarks against Zelenskyy, was broadcast on Thursday.