What Trump Has Said About Ukraine Over the Years

U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump has faced repeated scrutiny for what immoderate see being excessively brushed connected Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and adjacent outright accusations of collaboration with Moscow, since helium announced his archetypal tally for the presidency successful 2015. 

In 2019, the U.S. Congress impeached then-President Trump for a telephone telephone successful which helium pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to find damaging accusation astir Joe Biden, Trump’s apt statesmanlike challenger astatine the time. 

He has made respective comments astir Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine since 2022, alternating betwixt voicing praise for Putin and lamenting the suffering caused by the warfare and claiming helium would beryllium capable to extremity it.

The Moscow Times has collected immoderate of Trump’s comments connected Ukraine from implicit the years.

March 2016: Candidate Trump told the Washington Post Editorial Board that NATO and the countries surrounding Ukraine should beryllium doing much to resoluteness the conflict:

“Look, I spot NATO arsenic a bully happening to person – I look astatine the Ukraine concern and I say, truthful Ukraine is simply a state that affects america acold little than it affects different countries successful NATO, and yet we are doing each of the lifting, they’re not doing anything. And I say, wherefore is it that Germany is not dealing with NATO connected Ukraine? Why is it that different countries that are successful the vicinity of the Ukraine not dealing with — wherefore are we ever the 1 that’s leading, perchance the 3rd satellite war, okay, with Russia? Why are we ever the ones that are doing it?”

And aboriginal connected successful the interview:

“I deliberation NATO arsenic a conception is good, but it is not arsenic bully arsenic it was erstwhile it archetypal evolved. And I deliberation we carnivore the, you know, not lone financially, we carnivore the biggest brunt of it. Obama has been stronger connected the Ukraine than each the different countries enactment together, and those different countries close adjacent doorway to the Ukraine. And I conscionable accidental we have, I’m not adjacent knocking it, I’m conscionable saying I don’t deliberation it’s fair, we’re not treated fair. I don’t deliberation we’re treated fair, Charles, anywhere.”

July 2016: When asked if helium would see recognizing annexed Crimea arsenic Russian territory, Trump responded: “We'll beryllium looking astatine that. Yeah, we'll beryllium looking.”

August 2016: Trump told a rally of his supporters that helium did not enactment Ukraine attempting to retake Crimea due to the fact that it mightiness trigger “World War III”: 

“I said precise simply: they're not gonna bash it connected my watch, essentially. I said Russia volition not spell into Ukraine. I said that. When I said, 'Believe me, Russia's not going into Ukraine, alright?' They're not going into Ukraine. The idiosyncratic said, 'But they're already successful Ukraine.' I said, 'Well that was 2 years ago. ‘I mean — bash you privation to spell back? Do you privation to person World War III to get it back?’ That was during Obama's watch.”

May 2017: President Trump tweeted photos of himself with the overseas ministers of Russia and Ukraine, on with a connection for “peace.”

July 2017: In a New York Times interview, Trump criticized erstwhile President Barack Obama’s handling of Russia’s seizure and annexation of Crimea: 

“Crimea was fixed distant during Obama. Not during Trump. In fact, I was connected 1 of the shows, I said they’re precisely right, they didn’t person it arsenic it exactly. But helium was — this — Crimea was gone during the Obama administration, and helium gave, helium allowed it to get away. You know, helium tin speech pugnacious each helium wants.” 

November 2017: Trump tweeted: "When volition each the haters and fools retired determination recognize that having a bully narration with Russia is simply a bully thing, not a atrocious thing. There [sic] ever playing authorities — atrocious for our country. I privation to lick North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, terrorism, and Russia tin greatly help!”

Later that month, Trump had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, successful which helium said that they discussed Ukraine. 

June 2018: Trump reportedly told G7 leaders that Crimea was Russian due to the fact that each who lives determination speaks Russian. 

July 2019: In a telephone telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump pushed Zelensky to stock damaging accusation connected Democratic campaigner Joe Biden. 

Shortly earlier the call,  Trump had blocked the merchandise of subject assistance to Ukraine. A elder authoritative aboriginal said that the merchandise of this assistance was conditioned connected Zelensky digging up ungraded connected Biden. 

This telephone telephone would yet pb to Trump’s archetypal impeachment. 

November 2019: Trump told Fox News that Ukraine was the “third astir corrupt state successful the world.”

February 2022: On Feb. 22, 2 days earlier Russia launched its full-scale penetration of Ukraine, Trump addressed Moscow’s subject posturing toward Kyiv: 

“If decently handled, determination was perfectly nary crushed that the concern presently happening successful Ukraine should person happened astatine all. I cognize Vladimir Putin precise well, and helium would person ne'er done during the Trump Administration what helium is doing now, nary way!”

“The anemic sanctions are insignificant comparative to taking implicit a state and a monolithic portion of strategically located land. Now it has begun, lipid prices are going higher and higher, and Putin is not lone getting what helium ever wanted, but getting, due to the fact that of the lipid and state surge, richer and richer.”

The aforesaid day, Trump praised Putin’s designation of Ukraine’s separatist-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk arsenic autarkic states successful a vigor interrogation with The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show: 

“I went successful yesterday and determination was a tv screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a large information of the Ukraine — of Ukraine — Putin declares it arsenic independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. He utilized the connection ‘independent’ and ‘we’re gonna spell retired and we’re gonna spell successful and we’re gonna assistance support peace.’ You gotta accidental that’s beauteous savvy.”

Trump went on: “I knew that helium ever wanted Ukraine. I utilized to speech to him astir it. I said, ‘You can’t bash it. You’re not gonna bash it.’ But I could spot that helium wanted it. I knew Putin precise well. I got on with him great. He liked me. I liked him. I mean, you know, he’s a pugnacious cookie, got a batch of the large charm and a batch of pride. But the mode helium — and helium loves his country, you know? He loves his country. He’s acting a small differently, I deliberation now.”

On Feb. 24, Trump again praised Putin: “They say, ‘Trump said Putin’s smart.’ I mean, he’s taking implicit a state for 2 dollars’ worthy of sanctions. I’d accidental that’s beauteous smart. He’s taking implicit a state — truly a vast, immense location, a large portion of onshore with a batch of people, and conscionable walking close in.”

March 2022: Former President Trump bragged astir being the lone American president successful the 21st period connected whose ticker Putin has not invaded different country.

On March 27, helium criticized the Obama medication for not sending lethal assistance to Ukraine: “I was the 1 that sent the Javelins, not Obama. Obama sent blankets.”

On March 28, helium called Putin “smart,” praising his “negotiating”: “I said, ‘That’s a hellhole of a mode to negotiate, enactment 200,000 soldiers connected the border’.”

May 2023: In an interrogation connected CNN, Trump said that helium would similar for the warfare successful Ukraine to extremity “so we halt sidesplitting these radical and breaking this state [Ukraine].”

In the aforesaid interview, helium claimed that helium would halt the warring successful 24 hours: “If I’m president, I’ll person that warfare settled successful 1 day, 24 hours. I’ll conscionable with Putin, conscionable with Zelensky… and wrong 24 hours, that warfare volition beryllium settled.”

September 2023: In an NBC interview, the erstwhile president said that helium would get the Ukrainian and Russian presidents unneurotic successful a country and enactment retired a deal.

January 2024: Trump praised himself for giving Ukraine lethal aid, saying: “Russia has gotten successful deeper than they ever thought imaginable [in Ukraine, due to the fact that of] the weapons that I gave and that the Ukrainians utilized truthful well.”April 2024: On the Trump-backed societal media tract Truth Social, the erstwhile president criticized Europe for what helium said was a deficiency of assistance to Ukraine.

June 2024: Trump said helium would pledge not to enactment boots connected the crushed successful Ukraine if elected president. 

July 2024: Following an attempted assassination, Trump thanked Zelensky connected Truth Social for reaching retired to him.

September 2024: During a statesmanlike debate, Trump refused to accidental whether oregon not helium wanted Ukraine to win, saying: “I privation the warfare to stop. I privation to prevention lives. I deliberation it’s the U.S.’s champion involvement to get this warfare finished and conscionable get it done.” He added: “I were president Russia would person never, ever … gone into Ukraine and killed millions of radical erstwhile you adhd it up. Far worse than radical recognize what's going connected implicit there.”

He besides said the warfare was “dying to beryllium settled.”

This database was compiled based connected probe by Russia Matters

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