Former US President Donald Trump speaks to the crowd during a rally in South Carolina
Donald Trump boasted to a rally of his supporters that contrary to reports he failed to deter Vladimir Putin’s ambitions in the post-Soviet sphere, “no one was tougher on Russia” than him – and that “my personality is what kept us out of war”.
He also speculated that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “could lead to World War III”, adding that his successor Joe Biden can still “end this tragedy without getting Americans snared into a gruesome and very bloody war.”
Meanwhile, a former US ambassador to Ukraine said that transcripts revealing Mr Trump’s attempts to withhold congressionally approved military aid from Ukraine during a 2019 phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky likely emboldened the Russian president.
“I think it certainly plays a part. I think Putin saw how Trump viewed Ukraine … as a pawn,” Marie Yovanovitch told NBC on Sunday.
