WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump spoke heatedly in the presidential debate about wanting Russia's war in Ukraine to be over — but twice refused to directly answer a question about whether he wanted U.S. ally Ukraine to win.
Trump also falsely claimed Tuesday that the war had killed “millions” since Russia invaded Ukraine 2 1/2 years ago, while the United Nations says 11,700 civilian deaths have been verified. Trump also claimed without evidence that Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, had bungled a diplomatic mission just days before Russia launched the invasion.
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Trump's comments are likely to heighten concern among Ukraine and its supporters that his return to the White House could push Ukraine into a losing peace deal with its stronger neighbor, Russia. Western-allied Ukraine depends on U.S. military and financial aid to keep up its fight against Russian forces, and it would have grave difficulty withstanding their attacks if the United States were to pull that support.
It's "a very simple question. Do you want Ukraine to win this war?” moderator David Muir of ABC News asked Trump, in the first of two times Trump was pressed for a direct answer.
“I want the war to stop,” Trump responded. “I want to save lives,” he added, going on to claim falsely that “millions” were dying in the conflict.
Muir then asked again, questioning whether Trump believed “it’s in the U.S. best interest for Ukraine to win this war.”
The Republican nominee responded, “I think it’s the U.S. best interest to get this war finished and just get it done.”
Trump has said repeatedly he would have a peace deal done between Ukraine and Russia within a day if he is elected, although he does not say how. The fear of Ukraine's supporters is that the kind of deal Trump is talking about would amount to the country's democratic government capitulating significant territory and sovereignty to Russia's harsh demands.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year insisted Ukraine must give up vast amounts of territory and avoid joining NATO simply as a condition to start negotiations.
“The reason that Donald Trump says that this war would be over within 24 hours is because he would just give it up,” Harris said during the debate. She accused Trump of being in “what you think is a friendship with ... a dictator who would eat you for lunch.”
Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Wednesday that “the name Putin is used, let’s say, as one of the tools in the domestic political struggle of the United States.” He added: “We really, really don’t like this and we still hope they will leave our president alone." Peskov suggested that both Harris and Trump have a “negative” and “unfriendly” attitude toward Russia.
Trump, however, has a long history of admiring comments about Putin, including calling his tactics in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine “genius” and “very savvy.” Trump expresses no such warmth for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling him a “salesman” for his appeals to allies for weapons.
The Biden administration says a victory in Ukraine would embolden Putin to move against other Western-allied democracies in Europe. President Joe Biden and his top officials were key players in rallying international support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia since even before Russian forces rolled into Ukraine. The U.S. spurred allies into action by pointing to declassified intelligence showing Russian preparations for the invasion.
Just days before the invasion in late February 2022, Biden sent Harris to the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany, a high-profile mission to consolidate support for Ukraine among European and NATO leaders. Harris met on the sidelines with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump during the debate linked the timing of Harris' trip to Europe to Putin's sending troops into Ukraine days later.
“They sent her in to negotiate with Zelenskyy and Putin. And she did. And the war started three days later,” he said.
But the U.S. government said the Russian troops massing on Ukraine's border and intelligence assessments already pointed to an imminent invasion. And Putin was not at the security conference in Germany, and Harris didn't meet with him.