Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally on January 29 in Conroe, Texas.
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Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally on January 29 in Conroe, Texas.
Brandon Bell / Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s moves in Ukraine, calling him “understanding” after the Kremlin recognized the independence of two Russian-controlled breakaway regions in the region. Eastern Ukraine.
“Yesterday I went in and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin claims a big part… Ukraine, Putin declares the country independent,” Trump said in an interview Tuesday about conservatism Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.
The former president was referring to two rebel-controlled territories, Luhansk and Donetsk, covers a larger area called the Donbas bordering Russia. The two territories have been led by pro-Russian separatists for nearly a decade.
Putin on Monday recognized the independence of the two territories and ordered the Russian military to conduct “peacekeeping” operations there – arouse international concern that the Kremlin was ready for an attack.
“So Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a big part of Ukraine. I said, “How clever is that?” And he will go in and become a peacekeeper. That is [the] The most powerful peace force,” Trump said, adding that it was a show of force that the United States could use on its southern border.
Trump’s comments come as tensions in Ukraine have escalated and the United States has ordered sanctions to try to lower Russia’s ability to do business with the West.
President Biden on Tuesday called the arrival of troops to the Donbas “the beginning of a Russian invasion,” and sanctions in response to Putin’s “flagrant violation of international law”.
Trump criticized Biden’s response, falsely alleging that Biden was only in the White House because the 2020 election was “rigged”.
“This would never happen to us,” Trump said in the recorded interview at his Mar-a-Lago estate, calling Biden a “man who has no concept of what he is.” I’m doing.”
Trump, who was friendly with Putin in the past, continued: “I’ve been in office, can’t even think. This will never happen. But here’s a man who said, you know, ‘I’m going to make a big claim. Ukraine is independent,’ he uses the word ‘independent,’ and we will go out and we will go in and we will help keep the peace.” You have to say that is quite understanding. And you know what the response from Biden was? No response. They have no one for that. No, very sad. “
The sanctions Biden announced Tuesday will hit two major Russian financial institutions along with the Russian government’s ability to access Western financing. Additional sanctions in the coming days will be aimed at Russian elites and their families, Biden said.
Biden described the sanctions as “the first wave” and he warned that the US was prepared for further consequences if Putin did not withdraw.
