President Donald Trump this week falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the war that has cost tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives, causing outrage and alarm in a country that has spent nearly three years fighting back a much larger Russian military. [...]
Here's a look at some of Trump's statements:
U.S. President Donald Trump has made several statements on Ukraine and Russia's full-scale invasion of the country in recent days that closely resemble Kremlin rhetoric.
The assertions have amplified fears that Trump, who is pushing to end the three-year war, may try to pressure Kyiv to make major concessions without seeking many in return from Moscow.
The Moscow Times examines Trump's statements and how they compare to Kremlin talking points - plus the truth behind the claims:
Trump blames Ukraine for war
Trump questions President Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy
Zelensky’s '4%’ approval rating
Claim: Zelenskyy is a 'dictator' who is blocking elections
Fact check: Ukrainian elections can't be held during a war
Claim: Zelenskyy has an approval rating of 4 per cent
Fact check: Recent polling indicates Zelenkskyy has an approval rating of 57 per cent
Claim: Ukraine 'started' the war
Fact check: Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022
Claim: The US contributes more aid to Ukraine than Europe
Fact check: Europe has overtaken the US in terms of Ukraine aid
True.
JD Vance did say that "military tools of leverage" could be used if Moscow did not cooperate with the terms of a negotiation that ended fighting between Russia and Ukraine. He did rule out U.S. deployment, saying "the president is very clear that whenever he walks into negotiation, everything is on the table."
While Vance claimed his words were "twisted," a full transcript shows he did not rule out military action.
There are no estimates that 1.5 million Russian soldiers have been killed and wounded since Russia invaded Ukraine. Recent analyses suggest manpower losses of around 780,000 as of early January 2025. Ukrainian government estimates from February 2025 claim 850,000 Russian troop losses. While the Ukrainian government is thought to have overcounted Russian losses and undercounted its own, some of its recent assessments have been similar to those by government and expert analyses outside of Kyiv.
An independent analyst told Newsweek that Trump's estimate of Russian losses had "no basis in reality."
On Jan. 27, Andrey Isayev, a member of Russia's State Duma (the lower house of parliament), accused U.S. President Donald Trump of trying to "rudely" force Russian President Vladimir Putin to start peace negotiations with Ukraine. [...]
"Trump threatened our president rather rudely, it must be said, pressuring to start the negotiations and reminding of Qaddafi's fate."
The claim is false.
Our rating: Manipulated media
The video is a fabrication that wasn't reported or published by E! News, a company spokesperson said. The video is consistent with material created by a Russia-aligned influence campaign, disinformation experts said.
Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr and other prominent conservatives are sharing a video that claims to show E! News reporting that the US's humanitarian agency paid millions of dollars to celebrities including Angelina Jolie and Ben Stiller to visit Ukraine and help boost President Volodymyr Zelensky's popularity amid the country's war with Russia. But the clip is not an authentic report, a spokesperson for the entertainment news channel told AFP, and Stiller has publicly rejected the allegations as false.
[Trump] overstated and understated the respective amounts of financial assistance that the U.S. and European nations have allocated to help Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Trump called out Europe, which he said has not provided nearly as much financial support as the U.S. to Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
"I think that Europe has to do more," Trump said, when Welker asked if the security of the U.S. "is linked to Ukraine's security." He continued: "We're in for $200 billion. They're in for $25 billion. And it affects them more than it affects us."
Those figures are not accurate.