(Adjusts Ukraine to Russia in first round)
Written by Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump on Thursday accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of helping start that country’s war with Russia, comments that also suggest Trump could dramatically change U.S. policy toward Russia if he wins the Nov. 5 election.
The former Republican president has repeatedly criticized Zelenskiy on the campaign trail, repeatedly calling him “the biggest salesman on Earth” for asking for and receiving billions of dollars in US military aid since the war broke out in 2022.
Trump also criticized the Ukrainian leader for failing to seek peace with Moscow, and suggested that Ukraine may have to give Russia more space in order to make a peace deal, a deal that Kyiv considers unacceptable.
Trump’s comments on Thursday’s PBD Podcast with Patrick Bet-David went further than his previous criticisms. He said that Zelenskiy should not only be blamed for failing to end the war, but for helping to start it, even though the conflict erupted when Russia invaded the independent territory of Ukraine.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t want to help him because I have a lot of sympathy for those people. But he shouldn’t have let that war start. The war has not failed,” said Trump.
Zelenskiy presented his “strategy for victory” to end the war to Trump during a meeting in New York in September, a meeting both leaders described as sympathetic.
Trump’s public comments, however, suggest he may want to cut off aid to Ukraine if he defeats Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, on Nov. 5. He has repeatedly said he would end the conflict before he takes office in January, but has not said how.
Harris has pledged to continue to support Ukraine, and has cited the eastern European nation’s victory as a priority for U.S. national security. He has often criticized Trump for not wanting to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
