US President Donald Trump has again accused his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky of not being "grateful" for getting billions of dollars from the United States under the previous Biden administration. In a sit-down interview with Fox News, Trump likened Zelensky getting "$350 billion" worth of US aid after Russia invaded Ukraine to taking "candy from a baby," reports NDTV.
The interview came after a bitter stoush between the US and Ukraine escalated in recent weeks after the heated meeting in the Oval Office on February 28, leading the American President to halt all military funding to Ukraine, followed by Zelensky's apology.
Speaking to Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures, Trump said he just doesn't think Zelensky is "grateful" for the "$350 million" the US gave Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022.
Calling the Ukrainian Presidnet a "smart and tough guy", Trump said, "He [Zelensky] took money out of this country under Biden like taking candy from a baby. It was so easy with that same attitude."
When asked about his position on Russia, Trump claimed he has been "very tough" with Moscow, "tougher than anyone has ever been to Russia".
"I stopped the Russian pipeline, I'm the one that put sanctions on Russia, I'm the one that gave the Javelins, but I get along well with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin...Nobody has been tougher on Russia than Donald Trump and they know that," he said.
Trump, during his first term in office in 2019, had approved sanctions on Russian gas pipelines, which was an undersea pipeline allowing Russia to increase gas exports to Germany.
The American went ahead and said that if he had been President in 2022, Russia wouldn't have invaded Ukraine. He also said that other global events like Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, wouldn't have happened if he was in the White House.
When asked about the US Ukraine mineral deal, the original intended focus of Trump and Zelensky's Oval Office meeting, and whether it will still go ahead, Trump said he "thinks so."
Trump's Interview came a day after American billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday warned that the entire frontline of Kyiv's defence system will collapse if he "turned off" his Starlink satellite internet system, which has been vital in maintaining the military communications.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
