President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump on Tuesday said the Biden administration's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan gave Putin the green light to launch his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"I think that had you not had the situation in Afghanistan, I don't think Putin would have gotten in. I think when he looked at how stupid and incompetent that operation was, he said, ‘wow, this might be a chance'," Trump told reporters. "We're dealing with him now, too. We're not happy with Putin. I'm not happy with Putin, I can tell you that much right now, because he's killing a lot of people, and a lot of them are his soldiers, his soldiers and their soldiers, mostly. And it's now up to 7,000 a week. And I'm not happy with Putin."
Last week, Trump said he was "very disappointed" by his phone call with Putin, who afterward refused to back down from his objectives and launched the largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the war began. Trump, meanwhile, reported having a "very strategic call" with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the United States weighed whether to sell Kyiv more Patriot missiles.
Since beginning his second term, Trump has expressed having a "good relationship" with Putin. As the U.S. attempted to negotiate a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, Trump reported having a "lengthy and very productive" call with Putin in March. Meanwhile, a meeting in the Oval Office with Zelenskyy grew increasingly contentious as Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being ungrateful for U.S. support and of resisting a peace deal.
"You're gambling with World War III, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that's backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have," Trump told Zelenskyy in February.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference on July 3, 2025 in Aarhus, Denmark. (Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty Images)
"And I will say this. The Ukrainians, whether you think it's unfair that we gave all that money or not, they were very brave because somebody had to operate that stuff," Trump added. "And a lot of people I know wouldn't be operating it. They wouldn't have the courage to do it. So they fought very bravely, but we gave them the best equipment in the world. We make the best military equipment by far. There's nobody close."
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The Pentagon paused U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine in June out of concern for U.S. stockpiles of critical munitions, including Patriot missiles, amid the Israel-Iran conflict.
Trump said Tuesday some U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine have resumed.
"We wanted to put defensive weapons because Putin is not, he's not treating human beings right. He's killing too many people. So we're sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I've approved that," Trump said.
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
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