Ukraine official on Trump's praise of Putin: 'It's good' US isn't 'neighbors of Russia'

Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba knocked comments from former President Trump praising Russian President Vladimir Putin, who announced an invasion of Ukraine early Thursday morning Moscow time.

"It's good that the United States is not neighbors of Russia, otherwise no one in the United States would have such an opinion about President Putin," Kuleba said during an interview Thursday with BloombergTV.

Kuleba's comments were made after he was asked about recent statements from Trump in which he praised the Russian leader, calling him "savvy" and "a genius."

"I went in yesterday, and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius,'" Trump said during a recent radio interview. "Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine - of Ukraine - Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful."

"I said, 'How smart is that?' He's going to go in and be a peacekeeper," he continued. "That's the strongest peace force. We could use that on our southern border. That's the strongest peace force I've ever seen. There were more army tanks than I've ever seen. They're going to keep peace, all right."

The international community has expressed outrage at Putin's invasion of Ukraine, which he argued is necessary in order to keep Russians safe. Ukraine has not threatened Russia in any way, despite repeated claims they have from the Kremlin.

Trump's strongest critics in the United States blasted his recent comments on Putin.

"It should concern us all that Putin is exactly the kind of leader Trump would like to be, and that so few Republicans have the courage to say this out loud," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on Twitter.

"Former President Trump's adulation of Putin today - including calling him a 'genius' - aids our enemies," said Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) in a tweet of her own. "Trump's interests don't seem to align with the interests of the United States of America."