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Trump says Kyiv “should have never started it” referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

The US leader complained about Zelenskyy’s concerns over US talks with Russia excluding Ukraine, claiming he has the power to “end this war” and “it’s going very well.”
byYuri Zoria
19/02/2025
2 minute read
Donald Trump, photo via Wikimedia.
Donald Trump, photo via Wikimedia.
Trump says Kyiv “should have never started it” referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

On 18 February, US President Donald Trump once again claimed that Ukraine bears responsibility for Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. He stated that Kyiv could have made a deal to avoid the all-out war.

The comments followed the February 18 US-Russia meeting on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia, which excluded Ukraine and the EU. Trump has been pushing for talks between Kyiv and Moscow, allegedly to end the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. However, concerns have arisen that this could pressure Ukraine to cede territory while allowing the US to seek access to Ukraine’s valuable minerals as compensation for aid – raising fears of rewarding Russian aggression and undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had expressed concern that his country was not included in talks between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia on 18 February, NBC reports.

Regarding Russia’s invasion, the US President claimed:

“You should have never started it,” Trump said, referring to Ukraine.

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The American President stated,

“I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it’s going very well,” he said, adding regarding Zelenskyy’s concerns: “But today I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”

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Trump claimed he could have secured better terms for Ukraine through negotiation:

“I could have made a deal for Ukraine that would have given them almost all of the land, everything, almost all of the land, and no people would have been killed, and no city would have been demolished, and not one dome would have been knocked down. But they chose not to do it that way.”

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