Donald Trump condemned Russia invasion of Ukraine like the Holocaust, but he avoided criticism Vladimir Putin directly during an interview Wednesday morning.
Instead, the former president blamed his successor Joe Biden for giving Moscow the confidence to launch its attack by telling Fox Business that “Putin would never do that to me.”
Trump faced criticism late last week for praising the Russian autocrat’s illegal and unprovoked invasion as “genius” and calling him “understanding.”
He has since been forced to return comments several times, most recently during a telephone interview with Fox presenter Maria Bartiromo a day after Biden’s address on the state of the Union.
“I want to know your opinion on how Joe Biden should respond to people like Vladimir Putin [Chinese President] Xi Jinping, I mean, given the brutal actions taken by Putin over the past seven days – possible crimes against humanity, “Bartiromo said, referring to the harsh accusations of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson against the Russian president.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Wednesday that 6,000 Russian soldiers have been killed so far. More than 2,000 civilians have died, authorities in Kyiv said, including nearly two dozen children.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague said on Tuesday that it would investigate possible war crimes in Ukraine amid reports that Moscow troops were targeting and killing civilians.
A woman is overwhelmed by emotions in the backyard of a house damaged by a Russian air strike, according to locals, in Gorenka, near the capital, on March 2nd.
View of a shelled fitness building near the TV tower on March 2, 2022 in Kyiv
With that in mind, Bartiromo asked, “Would you still allow yourself to be respected by Putin at the time?”
“The biggest problem we have is that our president and our country are no longer respected. “Now Russia has gone deeper than they thought possible,” Trump said.
The former president called on Kremlin troops to “stop killing people”, but did not mention Putin by name – instead claiming that Biden’s lack of “respect” was behind the attack.
“They have to stop killing these people. They are killing all these people and they must stop it. And they have to stop it now. But they do not respect the United States. So the United States is, I don’t know, they’re not doing anything about it, “Trump said.
“It’s a Holocaust. This is a terrible thing that is happening, you are witnesses. I mean, you watch it on TV every night.
However, he praised the Ukrainian president. Trump’s telephone conversation with Zelensky in July 2019, in which he used defense funding in exchange for Kyiv launching an investigation into Biden and his son Hunter’s business dealings there, was at the center of Trump’s first impeachment lawsuit.
Zelensky was applauded on the world stage for his leadership, even as Russian troops approached the capital with what he said was aimed at killing him and his family.
Trump told Fox Business he saw an “early version” of Zelensky’s heroism during the war when he denied being pressured by the then US president.
“Zelenski was very brave in this, because he could very easily come up with a story that felt threatened. And he said, “No, it was a perfect call. He didn’t do anything wrong.” So you know, this way, you know, I have to see an early version of it, “Trump said.
Trump was widely criticized last week when he called Putin’s plan to invade Ukraine “smart.”
At least five people have been killed after Russian forces opened fire on Kyiv’s main TV tower and the city’s main Holocaust memorial, Ukrainian authorities said.
Trump called on Russians to “stop killing people” in Ukraine, but will not address Vladimir Putin directly (pictured: residential city of Irpin, outside Kyiv, after shelling)
“And I was very impressed with him. I have told many people. I was very impressed. He told the truth, but it might have been better for him or easier not to.
Biden, who was much more adamant in condemning Putin’s actions, told reporters on Wednesday that Russia was deliberately targeting civilians.
In a speech on the state of the Union on Tuesday, he called Putin a “dictator” and closed US airspace to Russian planes.
Meanwhile, it is reported that Russian troops on the front line were defeated and sent to war in Ukraine.
Crying Russian prisoners of war say they have no idea they were sent to invade and were used as “cannon fodder” by commanders who threw them into battle against “peaceful people defending their territory” after Vladimir Putin’s forces suffered heavy losses. at the opening of the days of conflict.
“This is not our war. Mothers and wives, gather your husbands. You don’t need to be here, “said a wounded soldier sitting in front of a Ukrainian flag. Other footage shows a Russian prisoner crying in handcuffs and saying, “They don’t even pick up corpses, there are no funerals.”
Russia’s progress has since slowed as cadres regrouped, changed their strategy and resumed their attack in what is now expected to turn into an increasingly bloody war for resources, with Kyiv’s people facing huge chances. . The defense ministry said Russia resumed fighting on “all fronts” on Wednesday and “suffered losses”.
Kherson, an important port city in southern Ukraine, appears to have been an early victim, as Russian tanks occupied the city center overnight and then began arriving in masses. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was also heavily bombed in the early hours when paratroopers descended and sparked shootings near a military hospital.
Mariupol, another key port city in southern Ukraine, is also reportedly under heavy bombardment as Russian forces try to surround it. If the city falls, then Putin’s people are expected to push north, trying to encircle Ukrainian forces fighting near Donetsk and force them to surrender.
While American and Ukrainian intelligence believe that morale in Russia’s ranks is low, Putin and his commanders have shown no signs of abandoning the battle – and instead have vowed to push even harder to try to achieved key objectives.
Last week, Trump praised Putin for declaring two Russian-backed separatist regions of Ukraine independent, allowing their leaders to invite Moscow to the east.
“Putin is now saying, ‘This is independent’ ‘in much of Ukraine. I said, “How smart is that?” Trump said on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show.
He continued to repeat the Kremlin’s lie that Putin was sending “peacekeepers.”
“This is the strongest peacekeeping force I have ever seen. There were more army tanks than I saw. They will keep the peace, “Trump said.” Here is a man who is very understanding. I know him very well. Very, very well.
During his big speech on CPAC on Saturday night, Trump returned his comments on Ukraine, but continued to speak passionately about Putin. Instead, he blamed the Biden administration for invading Russian forces.
“Russia’s attack on Ukraine is appalling. “It’s a disgrace and an atrocity that should never have been allowed,” Trump told an audience in Florida last night.
However, he added: “Yesterday, reporters asked me if I thought President Putin was smart. I said, of course, that he was smart. The problem is not that Putin is smart – which of course he is smart – but that our leaders are stupid.