Donald Trump Blames President Zelensky For Helping Start War With Russia

Donald Trump. (Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore)

JAKARTA - Donald Trump on Thursday blamed President Volodymyr Zelensky for helping start the Ukraine war with Russia, comments next suggest Trump is likely to radically change United States policies if he wins next month's presidential election.

In a comment on Thursday's PBD Podcast with Patrick Bet-David, Trump said President Zelensky was to blame not only for failing to end the war, but also for helping start it, even though the conflict broke out when Russia invaded Ukraine's sovereign territory.

"That doesn't mean I don't want to help him because I feel very sorry for those people. However, he should never have let the war start. The war was detrimental," Trump said.

The former Republican president has frequently criticized President Zelensky during the campaign, repeatedly calling him "the greatest seller on Earth" for having requested and received billions of dollars in US military aid since the war broke out in 2022.

Trump also criticized the Ukrainian leader for failing to seek peace with Moscow, suggesting Ukraine may have to hand part of its land over to Russia to make a peace deal, a concession Kyiv deems unacceptable.

Earlier, President Zelensky delivered "his winning plan" to end the war on Trump in a meeting in New York in September, a meeting described by the two leaders as a friendly meeting.

However, Trump's public comments suggest he could seek to stop aid for Ukraine if he defeats Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democratic candidate, in the November presidential election.

Trump has repeatedly said he could end the conflict before he took office in January, but he hasn't said how.

Meanwhile, Harris has promised to continue to support Ukraine, and he has described the victory for the Eastern European country as a vital US national security concern. He often rebuked Trump for not wanting to oppose Russian President Vladimir Putin.