President Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky of having “pissed away” billions of dollars in US aid for the war-torn country.
Trump, in a Friday interview with Fox News’ “Special Report” host Bret Baier, insisted that Kyiv’s management of US-provided funds bothered him more than the amount of money Washington has doled out to Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
“The money is the money,” the president said. “What bothered me — I hated to see the way it was, you know, excuse me, pissed away.”
Trump vented his frustrations with Zelensky’s handling of US aid in response to a question from Baier on whether he’s considering additional sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I hated to see that checks were sent for $60 billion every time Zelensky [traveled to Washington],” he fumed.
“I think he’s the greatest salesman in the world. Far better than me,” Trump said of the Ukrainian president.
“Where is all this money going?” he added.
Trump continued to voice his displeasure with Kyiv even after Baier interjected, “But I’m focused on Putin.”
“We send checks. We don’t always send equipment. We send — just checks. We send — just cash,” the president claimed. “Where is it?”
When Trump started to argue that European nations should’ve contributed more than the US to the war effort, Baier once again tried to redirect him to his Putin question.
“Wait,” Trump responded, before arguing that the US has been “treated worse” than Europe by Ukraine.
“We inherited this mess, but I think it’s going to get solved.”
Trump’s response comes as officials estimate that the US will have spent through all its congressionally approved funds to support Ukraine by June.
The US has approved some $175 billion in aid for Ukraine since the war broke out.
The president, however, indicated that he hopes to schedule a meeting with Putin, which he believes will result in a peace agreement.
“I think we’ll do it fast,” Trump said of meeting with the Russian president and hammering out a deal.
“I think he’s tired of this whole thing. He’s not looking good, and he wants to look good.”
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