Former US President Donald Trump has praised Vladimir Putin as “very savvy” and described his decision to recognise two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent as a “genius” move. In an interview with The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, Trump said he watched the escalation on television and remarked, “This is genius.” He added that Putin’s declaration of independence for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions was “wonderful” and that sending Russian troops as “peacekeepers” was a “smart move”.
Trump, who has long admired Putin and was impeached over allegations of withholding aid to Ukraine to damage Joe Biden, claimed that the crisis would not have occurred had he remained in office. “This never would have happened with us. Had I been in office, not even thinkable,” he said. He described Putin as someone he knows “very, very well” and reiterated that the Russian leader’s actions were “pretty savvy”.
Trump’s comments drew sharp criticism from two Republican members of the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot. Liz Cheney tweeted that Trump’s statement “aids our enemies” and that his interests “don’t seem to align with the interests of the United States of America”. Adam Kinzinger condemned a House Republicans tweet showing Joe Biden walking away with the caption “This is what weakness on the world stage looks like”, calling it “insane” and saying it “feeds into Putin’s narrative”.
In a lengthy speech on Monday, Putin questioned Ukraine’s right to exist and recognised the independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, ordering Russian troops into the region for what he called “peacekeeping operations”. Western leaders have roundly condemned the move as a dangerous escalation and a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield called Putin’s declaration “nonsense” and accused Russia of “creating a pretext for war”. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Russia was “plainly in breach of international law”.
