Trump reportedly thought Ukraine 'must be part of Russia' as president
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As president of the U.S., Donald Trump “made it very clear” that he believed Ukraine “must be part of Russia,” his former advisor Fiona Hill said, The Guardian reported on April 12, citing an excerpt from a book by The New York Times reporter David Sanger.
In early April, media reported, citing undisclosed sources, that Trump had privately said he could end Russia's war by pressuring Ukraine to cede Crimea and Donbas to Moscow, which was denied by his advisor.
Trump, a presumptive nominee for the 2024 U.S. presidential run, has repeatedly said he could end Russia’s war within 24 hours if elected president, without specifying the steps for reaching a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
Hill reportedly alleged that Trump thought "Ukraine, and certainly Crimea, must be part of Russia.”
“He really could not get his head around the idea that Ukraine was an independent state,” she said, according to the book "New Cold Wars."
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The book's author wrote that such a view of Trump regarding Ukraine actually coincided with that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has repeatedly denied Ukraine's statehood and independence, the Guardian reported.
Hard-line Republican lawmakers close to Trump oppose further assistance for Kyiv, reportedly pressuring House Speaker Mike Johnson not to call a vote on the $60 billion aid package for Ukraine in the House of Representatives.
While meeting with Johnson in Florida on April 12, Trump said that aid to Ukraine could be provided in the form of a loan, The Hill reported.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the idea of ceding the country's territories in exchange for peace. Zelensky nevertheless said that Ukraine is likely to lose the war unless Congress approves additional support.
Russia illegally annexed Crimea and invaded Donbas in 2014. In September 2022, Putin illegally declared the annexation of four partially occupied Ukrainian oblasts: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
Read also: Why some far-right Republicans are hell bent on ending further aid to Ukraine
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