In the fraught political landscape that has defined the last few years, a new revelation has surfaced, casting a stark light on the convoluted relationship between former President Donald Trump, Russia, and the contentious issue of Ukraine’s sovereignty. Fiona Hill, a former national security adviser, is said to have disclosed in a new book that Trump once asserted that Ukraine “must be part of Russia,” a stance that unsettlingly mirrors that of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Trump made it very clear that he thought, you know, that Ukraine, and certainly Crimea, must be part of Russia,” said Fiona Hill, who served as the senior director for European and Russian affairs on the US National Security Council from 2017 to 2019, in an interview with David Sanger, a New York Times reporter and author.
“He really could not get his head around the idea that Ukraine was an independent state,” Sanger explains, highlighting that Trump’s perspective on Ukraine closely mirrored that of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, just a year after Trump’s presidency ended.
Putin, prior to initiating the invasion, stated in a speech: “Ukraine is an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space.” Last month, on the 10th anniversary of the annexation of Crimea, Putin asserted that certain regions of occupied Ukraine belonged to a “New Russia.”
“New Cold Wars,” set to be released in the US last Tuesday, was obtained by The Guardian. The book’s release coincides with the Ukraine conflict entering its third year, while approximately $60 billion in new US military assistance to Kyiv remains stalled by far-right Republicans in the House of Representatives, in line with Trump’s preferences as he campaigns to unseat Joe Biden in a presidential rematch and regain power.
Although House Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed a desire to pass Ukraine aid, he faces significant opposition, particularly from Trump, whom he is set to join in Florida on Friday. Biden and other senior officials have strongly criticized Republicans’ obstruction of Ukraine aid, as well as Trump’s statements in support of Putin, including a startling pledge to “encourage Russia to do what the hell they want” to financially delinquent NATO allies of the US.
Relevant articles:
– Trump thought Ukraine ‘must be part of Russia’ during presidency, book says | The Guardian
– Trump Believed Ukraine ‘Must Be Part Of Russia,’ Ex-Adviser Reportedly Claims In New Book, Forbes, Fri, 12 Apr 2024 20:08:18 GMT
– Former White House adviser Hill: During his presidency, Trump believed that Ukraine “should be part of Russia”, Бабель, Sat, 13 Apr 2024 06:35:25 GMT
– Jesse Watters Has Really Dumb ‘Proof’ That Trump Loves Hispanics More Than Biden, Yahoo News Canada, Sat, 13 Apr 2024 17:53:26 GMT