The United States President, Donald Trump, has hinted that Ukraine might be “Russia someday.”
Trump disclosed this amid efforts by his administration to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.
According to Trump: “They (Ukraine) may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday.”
He stressed that he also wanted to see a return on investment with US aid for Ukraine, again floating the idea of a trade for Kyiv’s rare earth minerals.
The US president’s comments will likely delight the Kremlin, which has illegally annexed four Ukrainian regions since launching its full-scale invasion and seeks Ukraine’s total submission.
Reacting, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said some parts of Ukraine have always wanted to be Russia.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Peskov said: “A significant part of Ukraine wants to become Russia, and the fact that it has already become Russia is (undeniable).”
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, it believed it would capture the capital Kyiv in days and the rest of the country in weeks.
With the war set to enter its fourth year later this month, Moscow holds around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory. In 2023, it held a sham referendum in four occupied regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – in an attempt to lend legitimacy to its annexation.
Peskov said people had “despite many dangers, stood in line and voted” in the referendum to join Russia. “This largely corresponds to President Trump’s words.”