Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump sympathises with Putin’s Nato stance as Kyiv drones hit key Russian city
Ukrainian presidential advisor Alexander Kamyshin says the strike on the Russian oil facility shows Kyiv has ‘superpowers’
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has said he sympathises with Vladimir Putin’s position that Ukraine should not be part of Nato, incorrectly accusing Joe Biden of changing US policy on the issue.
“A big part of the problem is, Russia – for many, many years, long before Putin – said, ‘You could never have Nato involved with Ukraine.’ Now, they’ve said that. That’s been, like, written in stone,” Mr Trump said, speaking at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach.
“And somewhere along the line Biden said, ‘No. They should be able to join Nato’ Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feelings about that.”
Nato’s official position since 2008 has been that Ukraine should work towards membership, and that remains the case. No new invitation to join Nato has been offered, despite calls from Kyiv for the alliance to do so.
It comes as a major fire has erupted in an oil facility in the Russian city of Engels after a long range Ukrainian drone attack.
The Ukrainian military, who confirmed Kyiv’s involvement in the attack, said the facility provides fuel for Russian bomber planes responsible for launching missile attacks against Ukraine.
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Trump sympathises with Russia’s opposition to Ukraine’s Nato bid
President-elect Donald Trump said he sympathised with the Russian position that Ukraine should not be part of Nato, and he lamented that he will not meet Russian president Vladimir Putin before his inauguration.
“A big part of the problem is, Russia - for many, many years, long before Putin - said, ‘You could never have Nato involved with Ukraine.’ Now, they’ve said that. That’s been, like, written in stone,” Mr Trump said, speaking at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
He also blamed outgoing Democratic president Joe Biden for allegedly changing the US position on Nato membership for Ukraine.
“And somewhere along the line Biden said, ‘No. They should be able to join Nato’ Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feelings about that.”
Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have officially expressed support for Ukraine‘s eventual membership since the Bucharest Summit of 2008, and the Biden administration continues to support Ukraine‘s eventual Nato accession, though Ukraine has never been extended an invitation.
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