Trump says Russia is stronger in Ukraine as he chides Europe

Donald Trump

President Donald Trump said Russia is in a stronger military position in its war on Ukraine and chided European leaders for what he called excessive dialog that’s produced scant results in his latest broadside against historical allies.

“Russia has the upper hand. And they always did,” Trump said in a wide-ranging interview with Politico published on Tuesday. “They’re much bigger and stronger in that sense.”

The remarks expose sharply diverging positions on Moscow’s war between the US and Europe since Trump returned to office earlier this year. The president has repeatedly lashed out against the Europeans on issues ranging from trade to defense of Ukraine, creating the deepest strains in the transatlantic alliance since the end of World War II.

The US administration ended its financial support for Kyiv, leaving Europe to foot a mounting bill for supporting Ukraine. Trump has also appeared increasingly sympathetic to Moscow’s demands and largely shut other western allies out of his diplomatic efforts to broker a peace deal.

Last week, a US national security strategy document signed by the president said European governments “hold unrealistic expectations for the war.”

Trump doubled down on that claim on Tuesday.

“I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the bravery and the fighting, all of that,” he told Politico. “But at some point size will win, generally, and this is a massive size,” he said, referring to Russia.

Moscow’s territorial gains in Ukraine came at an immense economic and human cost, with more than 1.5 million troops killed or wounded on both sides, according to Western estimates.

Still, almost four years since starting his full-scale invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed to take full control of the entire eastern region of Donbas in a war that he meant to end in a few days.

Governments across the continent have committed unprecedented amounts of financing and political capital to support Kyiv as they try to deal with a conflict that has reshaped the continents’ security architecture.

Trump alluded to the magnitude of Russia’s military as a factor likely to help the country prevail in the conflict.

“They lost territory long before I got here,” the president said. “They lost a whole strip of sea front, a big sea front. They lost a lot of land and it’s very good land that they lost. You certainly wouldn’t say that it’s a victory.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that elements of the new US security strategy are unacceptable to Europe, advising Trump to refrain from a go-it-alone approach.

“It confirms my assessment that we in Europe, and therefore also in Germany, must become much more independent from the US in terms of security policy,” Merz said.

The breakup has been months in the making.

The opening salvo took place in February, when Vice President JD Vance delivered a blistering diatribe against the continent’s alleged democratic failings to a room full of stunned European officials at the Munich Security Conference.

Merz said on Tuesday that the speech nudged Germany, a country whose foreign policy has been particularly pegged to the transatlantic relationship, toward a massive expansion of its military.

“That speech did trigger something in me, and you can see the results of that today in our defense spending,” he said.

European governments have aimed to salvage the transatlantic bond by paying up. In June, they agreed to Trump’s demand for a sharp increase of their defense spending to 5% of GDP at a NATO summit in The Hague. Trump appeared enthusiastic and seemingly re-committed to the military alliance.

“NATO calls me Daddy,” the president told Politico.

But he went on to diminished allies. Most European nations “they’re decaying,” Trump said. “They should be freaked out by what they’re doing to their countries.”

In his second term, Trump’s administration has championed its ideals of western civilization, painting Europe as a harbinger for what it sees as the consequences of migration.

European Council President Antonio Costa pushed back against Trump’s lashing criticism of the continent. “What we can’t accept is the threat of interference in Europe’s political life,” he said Tuesday in Dublin. “The US cannot replace European citizens in choosing which are the good or the bad parties.”

Former EU top diplomat Josep Borrell went one step further. “European leaders must stop pretending that Trump is not our adversary,” he said. “Assert the EU’s sovereignty.” The new US national security strategy is “a declaration of political war on the EU,” he wrote.

The US president criticized Europe on multiple fronts, saying that the countries haven’t done an adequate job in finding peace between Russia and Ukraine.

“They talk too much. And they’re not producing,” said Trump, who had pledged to end the war within 24 hours of taking the office in January. “We’re talking about Ukraine. They talk but they don’t produce. And the war just keeps going on and on.”

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said negotiators remained divided over territory as he visited London and Brussels for talks. There also needs to be further discussion on US security guarantees, he said.

“Well, he’s gonna have to get on the ball and start accepting things,” Trump told Politico. “You know, when you’re losing, ’cause he’s losing.”