 "US President Donald Trump with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Reuters File")
Hours after being sworn in as the 47th US president, Donald Trump on Monday said that Russia’s war on Ukraine has landed President Vladimir Putin in “big trouble” with regards to the country’s economy and expressed that he is “destroying” Russia by not making a deal with Kyiv.
“Zelenskyy told me he wants to make a deal, I don’t know if Putin does … He might not. I think he should make a deal. I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal,” Politico quoted Trump as saying in the Oval Office on the first day of his second presidency.
Commenting on the significant impact on Russia’s economy, Trump expressed hope that Putin would negotiate a deal to bring an end to the war
“I think, Russia is kinda in big trouble. You take a look at their economy, you take a look at their inflation in Russia. I got along with [Putin] great, I would hope he wants to make a deal,” he added.
When reporters reminded him that he had vowed to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on his first day in office, he said wants to get it wrapped up soon.
“I have another half of the day left,” Trump joked.
Trump further said that Putin must be dissatisfied with the slow progress of his war against Ukraine, nearly three years after he ordered an all-out assault, and 11 years after disguised Russian troops first entered Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.
“He’s grinding it out. Most people thought it would last about one week and now you’re into three years. It is not making him look good,” Politico quoted Trump as saying.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“We have numbers that almost a million Russian soldiers have been killed. About 700,000 Ukrainian soldiers are killed. Russia’s bigger, they have more soldiers to lose but that’s no way to run a country,” he added.
Ukraine has previously disputed Trump’s figures, saying it has lost over 43,000 soldiers killed in action and more than 370,000 wounded.
While the Kremlin does not disclose its official casualty numbers, Ukraine estimates that Russia lost 150,000 soldiers killed and over 400,000 wounded in 2024 alone.
With inputs from agencies