President Donald Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, blaming both leaders for the ongoing war in Ukraine.
While taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office, Trump decried Zelenskyy and former President Joe Biden’s handling of the conflict, saying the war would have never started under his leadership. But he also didn’t shy away from bashing Putin, who has largely been spared from Trump’s criticism.
“That’s a war that should have never been allowed to start and Biden could have stopped it and Zelenskyy could have stopped it and Putin should have never started it,” Trump said. “Everybody is to blame.” Trump added: “If Biden were competent and if Zelenskyy were competent, and I don’t know that he is, we had a rough session with this guy — he just kept asking for more and more.”
Earlier Monday, Trump launched a social media tirade on Biden and Zelenskyy, in which he said the pair “did an absolutely horrible job in allowing this travesty to begin.” Trump’s comments also come less than a day after the president referred to Russia’s Sunday missile strike on Ukraine in Sumy — which killed at least 35 people and injured 100 more — as a “mistake.” More here