The U.S. president first touted his personal relationship with Putin, before lamenting that the protracted war is making the dictator “look very bad.”
“I’m very disappointed because Vladimir [Putin] and I had a very good relationship, probably still do; I don’t know why he continues with this war, this war has been so bad for him,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei at the White House.
“He’s going into four years of a war that… he should have won that war in one week. He has lost a million and a half soldiers, probably close [to that], certainly in terms of wounded… It’s the biggest thing that has happened since WWII, in terms of death.”
Trump acknowledged that Putin remains intent at prosecuting the war despite the obvious toll on Russia’s economy.
“He has got to really settle this war. And, you know, the have long lines waiting for gasoline in Russia right now…,” he said.
“And all of a sudden, his economy is going to collapse, and I’d like to see him do well…, but he just doesn’t want to end that war and I think it’s making him look very bad. He could end it quickly.”
The president then expressed surprise at Ukraine’s ability to resist Russian forces for so long.
“I have to give credit: who would think that Ukraine could have fought Russia for four years to, essentially, a standstill,” said Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to Washington on Oct. 17 for a meeting with Trump. The two leaders are expected to discuss future shipments of U.S. military equipment to Ukraine, primarily Tomahawk cruise missiles and additional Patriot air defense batteries.