WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers stressed out their fortify for Ukraine as President Donald Trump, the chief in their celebration, hurled surprising assaults towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, shocking Ecu allies and showing to upend a long time of U.S. fortify for sufferers of Russian aggression.
“There is no moral equivalency between Vladimir Putin and President Zelenskyy. President Putin is evil, and he has to be stopped,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who visited Ukraine over the weekend as a part of a bipartisan congressional delegation, advised newshounds on Wednesday.
The North Carolina Republican referred to as the Russian president “a murderous dictator who started this war, ordered the occupation, and now the souls of tens of thousands of Ukrainians are lost on his watch.”
“He has lied every step of the way, and I believe any resolution in Ukraine that makes him feel like he won or just pushed to a tie is a bad idea,” Tillis added.
Trump used his Fact Social platform on Wednesday to lash out at Zelenskyy and make contact with the Ukrainian a “dictator without elections” who has “done a terrible job” protecting his nation. Ukraine hasn’t had elections since martial regulation was once installed position after Russia invaded its territory 3 years in the past and introduced a perilous bombing marketing campaign that persists as of late.
Trump’s broadside adopted Zelenskyy’s remark that the U.S. president was once being influenced via Russian disinformation after Trump falsely claimed that Ukraine began the warfare with Russia.
“You’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it. You should have never started it,” Trump stated of Zelenskyy at an tournament on the White Space.
The trade between the 2 presidents got here after U.S. and Russian officers met in Saudi Arabia to barter a agreement to finish the warfare. Ukrainian and Ecu officers weren’t integrated within the conferences, regardless of their insistence that they will have to be a part of the sort of discussions, and U.S. officers left open the potential for ceding Ukraine’s territory to Russia and made requests of Ukraine to agree handy over sources like uncommon earth minerals to the U.S.
U.S., Saudi, and Russian officers meet at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 18, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photograph by the use of AP
Maximum Republican lawmakers stated they disagreed with the perception that Ukraine began the warfare with Russia.
“When it comes to blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I blame Putin above all others,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a most sensible Trump best friend who additionally met with Zelenskyy over the weekend, wrote in a social media publish. Graham gushed on the Ukrainian president all the way through their assembly, “You’re the ally I’ve been hoping for all my life.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-L. a..), some other Trump best friend, referred to as Putin “a gangster” and “an evil person.” He too stated he disagreed with the perception that Ukraine come what may began the warfare with Russia.
And Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) heaped reward on Zelenskyy, calling him “the duly elected” president of Ukraine.
“I think he has been a key component in the fact that they’ve been able to withstand the Russian attacks,” Rounds stated.
Different Republicans have been extra forceful of their condemnation of Trump’s feedback. Rep. Don Viscount St. Albans (R-Neb.), a reasonable centrist, stated Putin is a dictator who murdered his political combatants. He then went directly to fact-check the remainder of Trump’s claims in his Wednesday social media publish.
“The EU nations have contributed more to Ukraine,” Viscount St. Albans wrote. “Zelensky polls over 50%. Ukraine wants to be part of the West, Putin hates the West. I don’t accept George Orwell’s doublethink.”
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However different Republicans have been extra deferential to Trump, suggesting his method was once interested by securing a peace settlement.
“I think right now, the administration, the president and his team are working to achieve that. And I think, right now, you got to give them some space,” Senate Majority Chief John Thune (R-S.D.) stated at a weekly press briefing on Wednesday.
Requested if he agreed with Trump that Zelenskyy is a dictator, Thune stated, “The president speaks for himself. What I want to see is a peaceful result, a peaceful outcome.”
