Preparations for Trump-Putin Meet Underway: Russia Deputy FM

President Donald Trump reversed course on Friday and said Russia did in fact invade Ukraine, and that Kyiv would soon sign a minerals agreement with the United States as part of efforts to end the Ukraine war.

- Reuters

WASHINGTON:

Trump had said on Tuesday that Ukraine "should have never started" the war three years ago, prompting a wave of criticism both domestically and internationally. Pressed on the subject in an interview with Fox News Radio on Friday, he acknowledged Russia had invaded Ukraine on the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Russia attacked, but they shouldn't have let him attack," Trump said, adding that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and then-US President Joe Biden should have taken steps to avert the invasion.

Trump denounced Zelensky as a "dictator" on Wednesday and warned he had to move quickly to secure peace with Russia, which invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago, or risk losing his country.

The change in tone from the United States, Ukraine's most important backer, has alarmed European officials and stoked fears that Kyiv could be forced into a peace deal that favors Putin.