Tengrinews.kz - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of allowing the war in Ukraine to start, according to Deutsche Welle.
Tengrinews.kz - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of allowing the war in Ukraine to start, according to Deutsche Welle.
The former White House chief gave an interview to popular YouTuber Patrick Bet-David. The podcast was released on Thursday, October 17. During the conversation, Trump stated that Zelensky "should never have let that war start."
The former U.S. president referred to the Ukrainian leader as "one of the greatest salesmen he has ever seen," and admired the amount of aid Ukraine has received from the United States.
"Who else got that kind of money in history? There’s never been. And that doesn't mean I don't want to help him, because I feel very badly for those people (the Ukrainians - ed.). But he should never have let that war start. That war is a loser," Trump said.
As reported by The Washington Post, the Republican also criticized U.S. President Joe Biden for his actions regarding the conflict, claiming that he "provoked this war."
At the end of September, Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his Trump Tower skyscraper in New York—his first meeting with Zelensky since 2019. The former U.S. president, standing next to Zelensky, said it was "a great honor" to meet him and that they had "very good relations." He then added that he also had "very good relations" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The publication noted that since the start of the war in February 2022, the Biden administration has provided over $50 billion in military aid to Kyiv. However, this amount is significantly less than the figure Trump mistakenly mentioned in the podcast, claiming that after each of Zelensky's visits, $100 billion is allocated to him.
Earlier, it was revealed that Trump may have communicated with Putin seven times in the last four years and at least once since the beginning of 2024. This was mentioned in a new book by Bob Woodward titled "War," which was released on October 15.