Trump suggests Ukraine may "not survive" war against Russia
Washington DC - President Donald Trump has suggested that Ukraine may lose the war with Russia and said he'd be willing to lift a pause on intelligence sharing ahead of crucial talks in Saudi Arabia.
In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News on Sunday, Trump addressed mounting pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to sign a minerals deal with the US and claimed that he was "tougher than anyone has ever been to Russia."
Despite such claims, Trump – who days before lambasting Zelensky in the Oval Office had called him a "dictator" – suggested that Ukraine may not survive the conflict and Russia may be headed for victory.
"It may not survive anyway, but, you know, we have some weaknesses with Russia, you know, it takes two," Trump said. "Look, it was not gonna happen that war, but it happened, so now we're stuck with it.
Trump did not go into what such "weaknesses" were, nor how he intended to address Russia's continuing offensive against Ukraine, which last week injured 81 civilians in a single day.
When asked to compare Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, Trump said that "they're very different."
He went on to stress how tough he'd been on Russia before going on about what he called the "Russia hoax" and rambling about Hunter Biden's laptop.
"I think I've been very tough to Russia, tougher than anyone's ever been to Russia, if you think about it," Trump said.
"First of all, we have the Russia hoax, which was a very bad thing and could have started a war... These guys know it came from Hunter Biden's laptop from hell."
Will Trump resume intelligence sharing with Ukraine?
Trump suggested that the pause on sharing military intelligence with Ukraine could potentially be lifted if progress is made during talks between Zelensky and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Saudi Arabia.
Washington last week suspended Ukraine's access to key commercial satellite imagery used to track the movement of Russian troops, assess damage, and direct strikes.
Talking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said that "we just about have" when asked whether he would end the pause and promised that "we're going to make a lot of progress."
While speaking on Fox News, however, Trump sewed more doubt on whether he's ready to set the public spat with Zelensky aside for the purpose of securing a fair peace deal.
"It was like taking candy from a baby what he did," Trump said, referring to Zelensky's dealings with former President Joe Biden.
"He's a smart guy, and he's a tough guy, and he took money out of this country under Biden like candy from a baby. It was so easy," Trump said. "I just don't think he's grateful."
Cover photo: AFP/Saul Loeb