Putin Says Trump Will ‘Restore Order’ Amid Talk of Ending Ukraine War
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently expressed optimism that U.S. President Donald Trump could "restore order" in Europe amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, offering some praise for the American leader in an interview published over the weekend.
“Trump, with his character and stubbornness, will restore order there quickly. And all of them – you will see – it will happen swiftly. Soon they will all sit at the feet of their master and gently wag their tails,” Putin remarked, according to a translation published by The Daily Wrap.
The Russian leader also suggested that Trump’s candidacy faced strong opposition throughout Europe and even implied that some nations may have meddled in the U.S. election because “mentally, the then-president Joe Biden suited them more.”
Putin further noted that “Trump has different ideas about what is good and what is bad – also in matters of gender policy and other issues. And they apparently do not like that,” as reported by the outlet.
Meanwhile, Trump indicated on Friday that a resolution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could be on the horizon, hinting at potential negotiations.
“We will be speaking, and I think we’ll perhaps do something that’ll be significant,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, per ABC News. “We want to end that war. That war would have not started if I was president.”
When asked if he had personally spoken with Putin, Trump avoided a direct answer, stating, “I don’t want to say that.”
Since taking office, Trump has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for not securing a deal with Russia before the war erupted in February 2022.
In a separate interview on Russian state television, Putin described Trump as a “clever and pragmatic man” with a strong commitment to prioritizing U.S. interests.
“We always had a business-like, pragmatic but also trusting relationship with the current U.S. president,” Putin said. “I couldn’t disagree with him that if he had been president — if they hadn’t stolen victory from him in 2020, the crisis that emerged in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided.”
During his campaign, Trump frequently criticized the Biden-Harris administration for allocating tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine rather than pursuing a diplomatic solution. In response, Zelensky stated in a recent interview that he was unsure where Trump’s claim of “$200 billion” in U.S. assistance originated, noting that his government had received only a fraction of that amount.
“When it is said that Ukraine received $200 billion to support the army during the war – that’s not true. I don’t know where all that money went. Perhaps it’s true on paper with hundreds of different programs – I won’t argue, and we’re immensely grateful for everything. But in reality, we received about $76 billion. It’s significant aid, but it’s not $200 billion,” Zelensky said.
Since 2022, Congress has approved approximately $175 billion in aid for Ukraine, though reports suggest a large portion of the funds were directed toward American industries and other U.S. government initiatives related to the conflict, according to RT.com.
Germany’s Kiel Institute estimated that, as of October 2024, the U.S. had allocated about $92 billion in financial and military assistance to Ukraine, while EU countries and the UK had provided around $131 billion.
Zelensky also clarified that much of the aid was in the form of military support rather than direct financial assistance.
“There are also many other humanitarian programs I’m uninformed about, except for knowing of their existence. Perhaps the US president’s administration will audit these programs and find additional billions, but I don’t know where those funds went,” he added.