Editor’s note: This story is currently being updated.
According to US President Donald Trump, Russia “has done well with Ukraine” and “hasn’t done much” for the country it has been trying to violently conquer for more than a decade.
“Frankly, Russia is doing well with Ukraine. They haven’t done much,” Trump told reporters on October 19.
The president’s remarks came the same day that a daytime Russian drone strike in a public park killed six people, including two children. The night before, Russia attacked kyiv with more than a dozen ballistic missiles and targeted nearly 30 critical energy facilities across the country.
But Trump had nothing to say about any of that, choosing instead to praise Russian President Vladimir Putin for his restraint in Ukraine and Iran.
Asked if he was open to a trilateral meeting with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said he was, but that such a meeting would not be in Ukraine’s interests — since Russia, apparently, “has done well with Ukraine.” He said the main objective of the meeting would be to discuss nuclear disarmament.
The president was asked about the three-way summit after The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin wanted to use the meeting – which would exclude President Volodymyr Zelensky – to reach a peace deal favorable to Moscow.
Trump then said he would be willing to talk to Xi about Ukraine, saying “he’s been very fair with Ukraine. He hasn’t been involved much, and the same with Russia.”
“They haven’t been what they could have been, and I appreciate that.”
It is unclear whether Trump was referring to China’s support for Russia or Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Trump defended his recent deals with Putin and sanctions waivers for Russia, saying the United States was negotiating with the Kremlin over the release of a high-profile hostage. He also said Russia was behaving “very well towards Iran.”
“We also have a very good situation regarding Iran. (Putin) fired Iran,” Trump said.
“It’s good because we’re hitting Iran very hard, as you know, economically and militarily, and Russia hasn’t done anything there, from what we can see, and I think that’s very positive.”
Russia is a close ally of Iran and has pledged to help Tehran in its war against the United States. Many media outlets have reported that Russia was shipping weapons to Iran, helping with missile development, and providing intelligence to help Iran attack U.S. bases in the Middle East.
Even US General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed on April 30 that Russia supports Iran in the war against the United States.
As Ukraine sent its experts to help shoot down Iranian drones attacking Gulf states, Putin pledged to provide Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian with all “necessary goods” and support the country during the war.
But in his remarks to the media on October 19, Trump seemed convinced that Putin, not Zelensky, was his true ally.
“Russia could have done a lot more to help Iran. Russia has done very little for Iran,” Trump insisted.
The US president lashed out at Zelensky again, saying Ukraine should consider recruiting someone to negotiate on its behalf.
“We gave Ukraine a lot. They gave us nothing.”
As the U.S. midterm elections approach, Trump has taken a sharp turn toward Moscow in an apparent bid to lower domestic fuel prices: On Oct. 9, he announced plans to buy Russian diesel, despite years of U.S. sanctions on Russian energy products. He also ordered Ukraine to stop attacking Russian oil refineries.
Lawmakers and critics from both political parties have pointed to the war in Iran as the main driver of soaring global oil prices and condemned the deal because it rewards Moscow even as it continues to hit Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure.
Gn headline
