Perpetrator-victim reversal

Trump: Zelenskyi to blame for Ukraine war

Volodymyr Selensky and Donald Trump

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Donald Trump is once again causing a stir with his peace plans for Ukraine: After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi was not even invited to a meeting between negotiators from Russia and the US, he then also blamed Zelenskyi for allowing the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine to happen in the first place and for it still continuing ...

There is "a leadership in Ukraine that has allowed a war that should never have happened", Trump said during an appearance at his Mar-a-Lago estate in the state of Florida. With regard to Zelenskyi, he said: "I like him personally, he's fine." However, he said it was not about personal sympathies, but about "getting the job done".

Mockery and derision for criticism from Kiev
Trump responded derisively to criticism from Ukraine that the country was not invited to the negotiators' meeting in Saudi Arabia. "I heard today: Oh, we weren't invited," said the Republican - and added: "Well, you've been there for three years." The war should have ended long ago, the Ukrainians were more or less to blame: "You should never have started it. You could have made a deal."

You should never have started it. You could have made a deal.

Donald Trumps über die Rolle der Ukraine im Ukraine-Krieg.

Drastic change of course by the USA in favor of Russia
Ukraine is dependent on Western help in its defense against the Russian invasion. Under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden, the USA was the country's most important supporter and arms supplier. Due to the change of power in Washington, the Ukrainians now fear a drastic change of course in favor of Russia.

Shortly after taking office, Trump personally contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the war in February 2022, and wants to meet him in person soon. The two agreed to start talks on a possible peace agreement. In preparation, the foreign ministers of both countries met in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine and the European allies have so far been left out of Trump's solo effort.

According to Trump, he would have brought about a deal
During his appearance, Trump also claimed that he could have negotiated a deal for Ukraine. After that, they would have gotten "almost the whole country", "and no people would have been killed, and no city would have been destroyed". What exactly he meant by this remained open.

The US President also addressed the same warning as Moscow to Kiev: elections are needed in Ukraine. No elections had taken place there for a long time and martial law was still in force, Trump lamented. Trump criticized that Zelenskyi had low approval ratings. He said that large parts of the country had been destroyed and that people were fed up with the war.

Polls refute Trump's statements
However, even after three years of Russian invasion, polls show that more than half of Ukrainians still support President Zelensky. There is also still a majority against territorial cessions and other concessions to Russia. However, the proportion of those who would like to see an end to the war through negotiations and compromises is steadily increasing. Irrespective of this, there are concerns that Russia could manipulate elections in the neighboring country and thus ensure that a puppet government loyal to the Kremlin could take over in Kiev.

Meeting between Trump and Putin likely in February
Meanwhile, the USA and Russia began preparations for a summit between Presidents Trump and Putin at their meeting of foreign ministers in Riyadh. No date was set on Tuesday for the time being. Trump later told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate that he would probably meet with Putin before the end of the month.

Meanwhile, following the conclusion of the meeting in the Saudi Arabian capital, Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov put the brakes on expectations that the summit between Putin and Trump could take place as early as next week. Intensive preparatory work by the delegations was still necessary beforehand. However, the talks were successful.