US President Donald Trump suggested that Ukraine "could possibly be Russian one day", CNN reported today.
The media outlet states that Trump is thereby questioning the future independence of Ukraine, a country that has been defending itself against Russian invasion for almost three years, with the support of the West.
Trump spoke in an interview with Fox News about his administration's efforts to end the war, ahead of a meeting scheduled for this Sunday between US Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"They (Ukraine) may make a deal, they may not. They may be Russian one day, they may not be Russian," Trump said.
CNN reports that the US president's comments are likely to delight the Kremlin, which has illegally annexed four Ukrainian regions since launching a full-scale invasion and is seeking Ukraine's complete subjugation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that a significant part of Ukraine wants to be Russian and that this corresponds to Trump's statements.
"The fact that a significant part of Ukraine wants to become Russian and has already become Russian is a reality," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in a statement regarding the annexations of Ukrainian territories in the fall of 2022, the Beta agency reports.
Russia then annexed the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions after holding referendums in the conflict zones. It also annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
"People who, despite numerous dangers, waited in line and voted during the referendum to join Russia - this largely corresponds to the words of Donald Trump," Peskov said yesterday.
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