Trump made new statement on Putin's intentions in Ukraine war
Photo: Donald Trump, President of the United States (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump still believes that Vladimir Putin allegedly seeks to end the war with Ukraine. Recently, the American leader suggested the opposite amid intensified Russian attacks, according to Trump's interview with ABC News.
The American president demonstrated a change of opinion during a conversation with interviewer Terry Moran on Tuesday.
Answering the question of whether he thinks Putin wants peace, Trump said, "It's possible."
In addition, the US president spoke about downplaying the expansionist appetites of the Russian dictator. Trump attributes this to his own merit, and not to the fact that Putin's army is simply incapable of occupying the entire territory of Ukraine.
"If it weren't for me, I think he'd want to take over the whole country, personally,” said the American leader.
At the same time, Trump again spoke critically about the intensified attacks from Russia on the peaceful cities of Ukraine.
"I'll tell you, I wasn't happy when I saw Putin launching missiles at several cities," said the US president.
Changes in Trump’s rhetoric regarding Putin
Donald Trump, after assuming office for the second presidential term, repeatedly stated about his “good relations” with Putin. And he claimed that he would manage to agree with the head of the Kremlin to end the war of Russia against Ukraine. A course toward diplomatic rapprochement between Washington and Moscow was also observed.
The United States under Trump did not approve new defense aid to Ukraine, and the country still receives packages that were approved by the previous US president, Joe Biden.
At the same time, Trump made several ambiguous statements regarding his Ukrainian colleague, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of allegedly being unwilling to end the war. It is also known that Washington, under Trump, did not approve new defense aid to Ukraine. Instead, in response to Washington’s proposal to cease fire for 30 days, Kyiv gave its consent - but not Moscow, which instead voiced a series of various conditions.
In addition, Russia intensified missile-drone strikes on civilian objects in Ukrainian cities, which became more deadly for civilians (such as the recent attacks of Kryvyi Rih, Sumy, and Kyiv).
After Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump in the Vatican at the funeral of the Pope on Saturday, the US president suggested that Putin might be leading him by the nose and does not want to end the war. The American leader also noted that Russia had no reason to carry out missile strikes on Kyiv on April 24. In addition, he suggested that Putin might be tapping him along and does not want to end the war.
On April 29, Trump allowed that certain actions of Putin could incline him to take Ukraine’s side.
