Thu Sep 26 13:44:26 UTC 2024: ## Trump Blasts Zelensky for Refusing Negotiations, Claims Ukraine is “Obliterated”
Former US President Donald Trump has sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for refusing to negotiate with Russia, claiming the country is now “obliterated” and Ukraine is reduced to sending “young children and old men” to the front lines.
Trump, speaking at a rally in North Carolina on Thursday, accused Zelensky of making “little nasty aspersions” towards him, before launching into a scathing critique of the Ukrainian leader’s handling of the war. He declared that “the country is absolutely obliterated” with “millions and millions of people” dead and “gorgeous buildings” destroyed.
“Ukraine is gone. It’s not Ukraine anymore,” Trump said. “You can never replace those cities and towns.”
Trump blamed President Biden and Vice President Harris for the situation, claiming they “egged it on” through “bad statements” and provided Ukraine with “billions of dollars” in aid without securing a peace deal.
He argued that any deal, even a “bad one,” would have been preferable to the ongoing conflict. Trump claimed that a peace deal was within reach during talks in Istanbul in 2022, but Zelensky withdrew at the last moment due to US and UK pressure.
The former president maintains he could settle the conflict “in 24 hours” if elected in November. However, Zelensky has countered that Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war,” while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said there is no “magic wand” to end the fighting.
Trump’s remarks come as Zelensky is in the US attending the UN General Assembly and presenting his “victory plan” to key figures in the Biden administration. Republican lawmakers have condemned Zelensky for publicly criticizing Trump, while some Western media outlets have documented Ukraine’s manpower shortage and the use of poorly trained recruits.
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