On Tuesday, President Donald Trump claimed that Ukraine bore responsibility for the invasion of their country by Russia three years ago, suggesting that Kyiv had the opportunity to negotiate a deal to avoid the conflict.
“You should have never initiated it,” Trump remarked about Ukraine while criticizing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had voiced concerns over being excluded from discussions between the U.S. and Russia in Saudi Arabia.
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“I believe I have the ability to bring an end to this war, and it seems to be proceeding well. But today I heard, ‘Oh, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been involved for three years,” Trump stated to the press at his Mar-a-Lago resort. “You should have never initiated it. A deal could have been reached.”
Trump further elaborated: “I could have brokered a deal for Ukraine that would have granted them nearly all of the land, everything, almost all of the land, avoiding any casualties and ensuring no city was destroyed, and not a single dome would have been damaged. But they opted against that approach.”
The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington has not yet responded to requests for comments regarding Trump’s statements.
On Tuesday, the U.S. and Russia agreed to restore embassy staffing, marking a shift from previous American policies. Earlier, Zelenskyy mentioned that “Ukraine had no prior knowledge of this.”
Trump noted last week that he had a phone conversation with President Vladimir Putin discussing ways to end the war, and he has made several remarks in support of the Russian leader. During a Fox News interview last month, he stated that Ukraine should not have engaged in combat when Russia invaded.
When questioned by reporters about U.S. support for Ukraine conducting new elections as part of a possible peace agreement with Russia, Trump also criticized Zelenskyy.
“When they seek a place at the negotiating table, wouldn’t it be appropriate for the people of Ukraine to consider, ‘It’s been a long time since we’ve had an election’? That’s not just a Russia-related issue; it’s something from me and other countries as well,” Trump commented.
The last presidential election in Ukraine occurred in 2019.
