The US President, 78, didn’t mince his words when it came to discussing which leader he is more fond of in the Oval Office on Friday (7 March).
And considering he was speaking to reporters from the same location he and Zelenskyy had verbally sparred in a week prior, it’s hardly that surprising.
There’s been a lot of developments since the pair locked horns in the White House on 28 February, including the suspension of all US military aid to Ukraine.
It had been reported by the New York Times that over $1 billion (£787.3 million) in arms and ammunition will be withheld, forcing the war-torn country to turn to private contractors instead.
Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko warned that this would be ‘catastrophic’ for the nation, although a White House official told Fox News it was ‘not a permanent termination of aid’ but a ‘pause’.
Trump has now also pulled the plug on Ukraine’s access to some satellite imagery, according to the BBC.
In his latest comments regarding the prospect of achieving peace between Putin and Zelenskyy’s countries, the President seemed to flip-flop between who’s side he was on.
Trump said he find it ‘easier’ to deal with Russia rather than Ukraine (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
He explained he was ‘strongly considering large-scale sanctions’ and tariffs on Russia until a deal is brokered, because the country had been ‘pounding’ Ukraine as of late.
It came after Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was battered by a large-scale missile and drone attack on Thursday (6 March) night.
But just hours later, Trump had drastically changed his tune and said that other people would be doing the same if they were in Putin’s position.
“We’re doing very well with Russia,” Trump said. “But right now they’re bombing the hell out of Ukraine.
“I think he [Putin] wants to get it stopped and settled and I think he’s hitting them harder than he’s been hitting them. I think probably anybody in that position would be doing that right now.”
The US President pictured with Vladimir Putin in 2018 (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
When asked why he had cut off military aid, the President responded: “I want to know [Ukraine] want to settle and I don’t know they want to settle.”
Trump went on to say that he finds it ‘easier’ to work with Putin rather than Zelenskyy, as the Russian leader ‘wants to end the war’.
“I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine,” he said. “And they don’t have the cards.
“In terms of getting a final settlement, it may be easier dealing with Russia.”
The commander-in-chief said he has ‘always had a good relationship’ with Putin, adding: “He wants to end the war. And I think he’s going to be more generous than he has to be.”
Next week, senior US and Ukrainian officials are set to sit down in Saudi Arabia in the hopes of smoothing things over following Trump’s row with Zelenskyy.
Here’s to hoping that pans out better than the one in the Oval Office did, eh?
