Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently criticized former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance during his visit to an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania. The visit led to controversy among lawmakers, as Zelensky reportedly made the trip using a U.S. Air Force jet funded by taxpayers.
In an interview, Zelensky expressed skepticism regarding Trump’s ability to end the war, and labeled Vance’s proposals as “too radical.” He was especially concerned about the potential for Vance’s proposals to lead to the conceding of Ukrainian territory.
“I want to get Russia to settle up with Ukraine and stop this — millions of people being killed, far greater than the number you read about. But I want to get that done before I even take office, I want to get that done as president-elect, because it has to be solved — too many people dying, too many cities are just in rubble right now, you look at the cultures just being destroyed,” Trump said.
“We’ve got to get that done, and I’ll get it done. There wouldn’t have been an October 7th, there wouldn’t have been Russia attacking Ukraine, there wouldn’t be inflation, all this inflation which has hurt people so badly. You wouldn’t have had that horrible type of withdrawal — we were getting out of Afghanistan, but with dignity and strength — that was the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.”
“And frankly Russia would have never gone into Ukraine if it weren’t for that,” Trump added. “They looked at that and they said, ‘This country is no longer run by Trump. This country is run by stupid people.’”
“With this war, oftentimes, the deeper you look at it the less you understand. I’ve seen many leaders who were convinced they knew how to end it tomorrow, and as they waded deeper into it, they realized it’s not that simple,” Zelensky said.
He rejected the idea of Ukraine sacrificing its land to resolve the conflict, claiming that such a notion lacks legitimacy under international law.
Donald Trump Jr. condemned Zelensky’s visit, noting the irony of a foreign leader funded by U.S. taxpayers attacking the Republican ticket, especially following a recent assassination attempt on his father.
“So a foreign leader who has received billions of dollars in funding from American taxpayers, comes to our country and has the nerve to attack the GOP ticket for President?” Donald Trump Jr. pressed.
“And he does this right after a pro-Ukraine zealot tried to assassinate my father? Disgraceful!” he added.
