Trump Says Ukraine War Was 'Supposed To Be Quick Little Skirmish'

Donald Trump claimed Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine “should have taken just a few days” in a bizarre speech today.

Speaking at the United Nations’ General Assembly in New York for the first time since 2020, the US president seemed to suggest Russia’s war in Ukraine should have been faster, and more effective.

Putin invaded Ukraine back in February 2022 but failed to seize its capital Kyiv within the first few days as Ukrainian troops fought back.

Three and a half years later, Russia holds only a fifth of Ukrainian land.

But Trump said today he has been working “relentlessly to stop the killing in Ukraine”.

He then claimed the Ukraine war was only meant to be a “quick little skirmish” – and the drawn-out process is making Russia look bad.

Trump also said he thought it would be the easiest conflict to solve because his relationship with Putin has always been a “good one”.

“In war, you never know what’s going to happen, there are always lots of surprises, both good and bad,” he said.

“Everyone thought Russia would win the war in three days – but it didn’t work out that way. It was supposed to be just a quick little skirmish.

“It’s not making Russia look good. It’s making them look bad. 

“No matter what happens from here on out, this was something that should have taken a matter of days, certainly less than a week. And they’ve been fighting for three and a half years.”

He added that the “war should never have happened” if he was president at the time.

It’s worth recalling that Trump called Putin’s invasion “savvy” and “genius” in 2022.

The president also reiterated his call for all Nato nations to completely separate themselves from Russia’s oil exports.

Trump put a strain on western unity when he was re-elected to the White House earlier this year, as he pushed for a peace deal by any means possible in Ukraine – even if it was on Putin’s terms.

But the US president has recently cooled on Russia because Putin has dragged his heels over any ceasefire negotiations – prompting Trump to say his one-time friend had “let him down” last week.

Trump also repeated his claim that he has stopped “seven wars” since returning to office, although in many of these regional conflicts, it’s not clear if peace deals will hold – or just how much of a role the US played in negotiations.

Still, the president claimed that the UN “did not even try to help with any” of his peace efforts.

He said: “I never even received a phone call from the UN or any help in finalising the deal.”

He added that the group was not “there for us”, and was instead creating new crises – like mass migration.

“That being the case, what is the purpose of the UN?” Trump said. “It has such tremendous, tremendous potential. but it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential.

“All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then not follow up.”

He said that does not solve wars.

Instead he accused the UN complex of having “a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”

He then criticised the UN for not letting him purchase the main building in the past and renovate it complete with a marble floor.

And, despite previously saying he should have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by now, Trump also said: “What I care about is not winning prizes but saving lives.”