Europe challenges Trump's claims on Ukraine conflict
U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with the BBC that Russia is "having the cards" in discussions about ending the war in Ukraine because it has "taken a lot of territory" of the country, the British broadcaster reported on Thursday.
Speaking to the BBC while flying from Florida, where he attended an investment meeting, to Washington, Trump claimed that Russia desires to end the war.
Trump: Russia is calling the shots
"I think the Russians want to see the war end. But I think they have the cards a little bit, because, you know, they've taken a lot of territory, so they have the cards," he said. Earlier that day, he twice referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "dictator."
Trump intensified his criticism of the Ukrainian president after Zelensky said that the U.S. president "is living in this disinformation space." Zelensky responded this way to Trump's claims that the Ukrainian president had only four percent support among citizens.
"He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden 'like a fiddle,'" Trump said.
Europe criticizes trump's statements
European leaders criticized Trump's recent statements about Ukraine and its president. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that "it is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelensky his democratic legitimacy."
