Trump's pre-inauguration remarks on Ukraine: Ending the war in 24 hours, fostering good relations with Putin, and the threat of a nuclear strike.
Today, January 20, the newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, will officially take office. UNN has gathered Trump's statements regarding Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
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During his campaign, Donald Trump frequently claimed to have good relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
In September, while still a candidate, Trump met with Zelensky and stated that if he became the President of the United States, his team would work with Ukraine and Russia to quickly end the war, as it must come to an end at some point.
"This has to end at some point. Ukraine has gone through hell. No one has ever seen anything like this. It's a terrible situation," Trump said.
He noted that he had a good relationship with Zelensky, recalling how Zelensky acted during the attempt to impeach Trump for allegedly pressuring Ukraine regarding military aid.
"I also have very good relations, as you know, with President Putin. And I think if we win, I believe we will resolve this very quickly," Trump added.
In response to this remark, Zelensky expressed hope that things would be "better for Ukraine," to which Trump replied: "It takes two to tango; we will have a good meeting today. And I think that the fact we are together today is a very good sign."
At the same meeting, Trump reiterated his statement that if he won the election before taking office on January 20, his team "would be able to come up with something very constructive."
One day before the meeting with Zelensky, Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of taking billions of dollars from the United States while refusing to "strike a deal" to end Russia's full-scale invasion.
In December, after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris, amidst the fall of Bashar Assad's regime in Syria, Trump expressed Ukraine's desire to reach an agreement to stop the war and called for an immediate ceasefire and the start of negotiations.
"Assad is gone. He fled his country. His patron, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, is no longer interested in protecting him. Russia had no reason to be there at all. They have lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where around 600,000 Russian soldiers lie wounded or dead in a war that should have never started and could go on forever," Trump stated.
He noted that Russia and Iran are in a weakened state: Russia due to the war in Ukraine and a poor economy, and Iran because of Israel and its military successes.
Prior to this, Trump had blamed former President Joe Biden for being responsible for Russia's war against Ukraine.
"Russia has been saying for many years, even before Putin, that NATO cannot intervene in Ukraine. It was as if it were carved in stone. And Biden said: no, they should be able to join NATO. Then Russia would have someone right on their doorstep. I can understand their feelings about this... When I heard Biden negotiating, I said: you will have a war. And it turned out to be a very bad war; it could escalate and become much worse than it is now," Trump claimed.
Trump also stated last November that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if he were president because he would have struck Moscow with a nuclear attack.
"I said: 'Vladimir, if you go into Ukraine, I will hit you so hard you won't even believe it. I will hit you right in the center of that damn Moscow. You will take a significant blow, and I will take those domes right off your head. Because you know, he lives under those domes,'" Trump said.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he could end the war in 24 hours, notably by directly threatening Putin to drop oil prices to $40 and to stop military aid to Zelensky.
"Literally the same night my victory is announced, I will call Putin and Zelensky. We will reach an agreement within 24 hours," Trump stated.
However, in January, advisors to the newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, acknowledged that resolving the war in Ukraine would take months or longer.