The fate of Ukraine hangs in the balance as Trump sides with Russia
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Lately, when President Trump talks about Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, he sounds a lot like Russian President Vladimir Putin.
I think I have the power to end this war. And I think it's going very well. But today I heard, oh, we weren't invited. Well, you've been there for three years. You should have ended it three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.
That was Trump speaking at Mar-a-Lago this week, echoing a popular Kremlin talking point. The false assertion that Ukraine started the war with Russia, a war that saw Russian troops pour over Ukraine's border and Russian missiles and drones bombard Ukrainian cities for three years. Trump was referring to a meeting that happened earlier this week. Top U.S. and Russian officials gathered in Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the war. Not included in the meeting? Anyone from Ukraine. These comments have shaken supporters of Ukraine and its allies, both here and abroad. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded to some of Trump's comments on the Senate floor this week.
Some of his comments sounded straight from a Russian propaganda playbook.
Zelensky responded too. He spoke through an interpreter to a small group of reporters at the presidential palace in Kiev on Wednesday morning, saying that while he respected Trump as a leader, Trump was living in what Zelensky called a circle of Russian disinformation.
I would like to see more truth from the Trump team, because this affects Ukraine and not in a positive way.
The United States has an embarrassing record of naivety, of somehow thinking that they could figure out the Russians and work with them like they were some sort of normal country.
Retired General Ben Hodges was commanding general of U.S. Army Europe from 2014 to 2017. He spoke on NPR's Here and Now.
All of our allies and friends in Eastern Europe, they are just amazed that we still continue to believe that somehow Russia has good intentions and they just want to be a normal, responsible country. The Russians have not stepped away from their original objective of destroying Ukraine as a state or destroying the idea of Ukraine as a state. Consider this.
As the once cold relations between the U.S. and Russia begin to thaw, the fate of Ukraine hangs in the balance. From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow. It's Consider This from NPR. For the past three years, the U.S. has been Ukraine's leading supporter in its war with Russia. But with a series of stunning moves, President Trump is now sounding more aligned with Russia than with Ukraine. To break this down, we are joined by NPR's Greg Myrie in Washington and Joanna Kikis in Kiev. Hey to both of you. Hello. Hi, Scott. Greg, I want to start with you. Trump is publicly attacking Ukraine's president. Why? Why is he doing this?
Well, Scott, Trump has been critical of Ukraine and Zelensky dating back to his first term, but we've never seen language this harsh. Writing on social media, Trump said, quote, a dictator without elections, Zelensky better move fast or he's not going to have a country left. So in the past week, Trump has also reached out to Russia, which had been isolated under the Biden administration. Trump called Russian leader Vladimir Putin and senior Trump aides met with their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia without Ukraine present. And this all seems to be part of Trump's very aggressive campaign for a ceasefire. And he's going about it by putting very intense public pressure on Ukraine and Zelensky, who are in a vulnerable position on the battlefield.
Joanna, how are people in Ukraine responding? Specifically, how is Zelensky responding?
So Zelensky has remained calm and he's tried to be diplomatic. And he seemed concerned, not angry, when he said yesterday that President Trump seems to live in a Russian-created space of disinformation. Trump is repeating Kremlin talking points. He's blaming Ukraine for the war, even as Russia continues to attack the country every night. And he's claiming Zelensky is an illegitimate president.
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