Trump calls Putin's invasion of Ukraine a 'Holocaust' and tells Russia to 'stop killing people' and work out a peace deal - days after calling Russian leader 'genius and savvy'
Donald Trump condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a 'holocaust' but shied away from criticizing Vladimir Putin directly during a Wednesday morning interview.
The former president instead blamed his successor President Joe Biden for giving Moscow the confidence to launch its attack, telling Fox Business that 'Putin never would have done it with me.'Trump faced criticism late last week for praising the Russian autocrat's illegal and unprovoked invasion as 'genius' and calling him 'savvy.'
He's been forced to walk back the comments several times since then, most recently during a phone interview with Fox host Maria Bartiromo the day after Biden's State of the Union address.
'I want to get your take on how Joe Biden needs to respond, to people like Vladimir Putin and [Chinese President] Xi Jinping, I mean, given the atrocious actions taken by Putin in the last seven days -- possible crimes against humanity,' Bartiromo prompted, referencing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's severe accusations against the Russian president.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that 6,000 Russian troops have been killed so far. More than 2,000 civilians are dead, Kyiv officials said, including nearly two dozen children.
The International Criminal Court at the Hague said Tuesday it would investigate possible war crimes in Ukraine amid reports that Moscow's troops are targeting and killing civilians.
At least five people have been killed after Russian forces fired at the main television tower in Kyiv and the city's main Holocaust memorial, Ukrainian officials said
Trump called on Russians to 'stop killing people' in Ukraine but would not address Vladimir Putin directly (pictured: residential town of Irpin, outside of Kyiv, after shelling)
Given that, Bartiromo asked, 'Would you still afford Putin respect at this time?'
'The biggest problem we have is that our president and our country is no longer respected. Now Russia is gotten in deeper than they ever thought possible,' Trump replied.
The ex-president called on Kremlin soldiers to 'stop killing people' but would not mention Putin by name -- instead claiming his lack of 'respect' for Biden was behind the attack.
'They have to stop killing these people. They’re killing all these people, and they have to stop it. And they have to stop it now. But they don’t respect the United States. So the United States is, I don’t know, they’re not doing anything about it,' Trump said.
'This is a holocaust. This is a horrible thing that’s happening, you’re witnessing. I mean, you’re seeing it on television every night.'
He did however share praise for Ukraine's president. Trump's July 2019 phone call with Zelensky, in which he leveraged defense funding in return for Kyiv opening an investigation into Biden and his son Hunter's business dealings there, was at the center of Trump's first impeachment trial.
Zelensky has been applauded on the world stage for his leadership even as Russian troops close in on the capital with what he claims is a goal to kill him and his family.
Trump told Fox Business that he got to see an 'early version' of Zelensky's wartime heroism when he denied the then-American president was pressuring him.
'Zelensky was very brave in that, because he could have very easily made up a story that he felt threatened. And he said, "No, that was a perfect call. He did nothing wrong." So you know, in that way, you know, I got to see an early version of him,' Trump said.
A view to a shelled gym building near the TV Tower on March 2, 2022 in Kyiv
A woman is overwhelmed by emotion in the backyard of a house damaged by a Russian airstrike, according to locals, in Gorenka, outside the capital, on March 2
'And I was very impressed by him. I've told that to a lot of people. I was very impressed. He told the truth, but it could have been better for him or easier not to do that.'
Biden, who has been far more assertive in his condemnation of Putin's actions, told reporters on Wednesday that Russia is deliberately targeting civilians.
During his State of the Union address on Tuesday he branded Putin a 'dictator' and closed US airspace to Russian planes.
Meanwhile Russian troops at the front lines have reportedly been flabbergasted to have been sent to war in Ukraine.
Weeping Russian prisoners of war have said they had no idea they were being sent to invade and were used like 'cannon fodder' by commanders who threw them into battle against 'peaceful people defending their territory' after Vladimir Putin's forces took heavy losses in the opening days of the conflict.
'This is not our war. Mothers and wives, collect your husbands. There is no need to be here,' an injured soldier sat in front of a Ukrainian flag was filmed saying. Other footage showed handcuffed Russian prisoner crying, while saying: 'They don't even pick up the corpses, there are no funerals'.
Trump was widely criticized last week when he called Putin's plan to invade Ukraine 'savvy'
Russia's advance has since slowed to a crawl as commanders regroup, change strategy, and renew their assault in what is now expected to become an increasingly bloody war of resources with Kyiv's men facing overwhelming odds. The Ministry of Defense said Russia had renewed the fight on 'all fronts' Wednesday and 'suffered losses'.
Kherson, an important port city in Ukraine's south, appeared to be an early casualty as Russian tanks occupied the city centre overnight and then began arriving in numbers. Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, also came under heavy bombardment in the early hours as paratroopers dropped in, sparking gunfights near a military hospital.
Mariupol, another key port city in Ukraine's south, is also reported to be under heavy bombardment as Russian forces attempt to encircle it. If the city falls then Putin's men are expected to push northwards, trying to encircle Ukrainian forces fighting near Donetsk and force them to surrender.
While both US and Ukrainian intelligence believes morale within the Russian ranks is low, Putin and his commanders have showed no sign they are about to give up the fight - and have instead vowed to press even harder to try and capture key objectives. Last week Trump praised Putin for declaring two Russian-backed separatist regions of Ukraine to be independent, which allowed their leaders to invite Moscow into the country from the east.
''Putin is now saying, "It’s independent," a large section of Ukraine. I said, "How smart is that?"' Trump said on The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.
He had gone on to parrot the Kremlin's lie that Putin was sending 'peacekeepers' in.
'That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right,' Trump said. 'Here’s a guy who’s very savvy … I know him very well. Very, very well.'
During his big speech headlining CPAC on Saturday evening, Trump walked his comments on Ukraine back but continued to speak glowingly of Putin. He instead blamed the Biden administration for Russian forces' invasion.
'The Russian attack on Ukraine is appalling. It’s an outrage, and an atrocity that should never have been allowed to occur,' Trump told his audience in Florida last night.
However, he also said: 'Yesterday reporters asked me if I thought President Putin is smart. I said of course he’s smart. The problem isn’t Putin is smart -- which of course he is smart -- it’s that our leaders are dumb.'
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