Trump Says Latest Russian Attack on Ukraine ‘What Anybody Else Would Do’

The Washington Post

12:21 JST, March 8, 2025

President Donald Trump expressed understanding Friday for Russia’s stepped-up attacks on Ukraine after the White House halted military and intelligence aid to Kyiv this week, saying that he would resume help for the beleaguered country only when Ukrainian leaders agree that “they want to settle.”

The U.S. cutoff of aid to Ukraine has made the country significantly more vulnerable to Russian attack. With Kyiv no longer able to depend on U.S. intelligence assistance to aid its targeting or give it warning about Russian attacks, the Kremlin unloaded a massive missile assault on Ukraine overnight Thursday into Friday.

“I actually think he’s doing what anybody else would do,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday, when asked whether he was upset that Russian President Vladimir Putin was taking advantage of the U.S. halt in aid for Ukraine. “Probably anybody in that position would be doing that right now. He wants to get it ended. And I think Ukraine wants to get it ended, but I don’t see. It’s crazy. They’re taking tremendous punishment. I don’t quite get it.”

Trump was asked whether he would consider stepping up help for Ukraine in the face of the Russian assault by giving Kyiv more air defense munitions. That form of assistance would not enable further Ukrainian attacks on Russian positions but would be purely defensive.

Trump indicated he would not give Ukraine those defensive munitions. “I have to know that they want to settle. I don’t know that they want to settle. If they don’t want to settle, we’re out of there.”

Trump added that his goal was to “stop death,” although Russia’s overnight assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure injured at least eight people.

Trump’s sympathetic comments toward Putin contrasted with his social media post hours earlier threatening “large scale” sanctions on Russia because of the attack. Trump said he also wanted the Kremlin to come to the table.

“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!”

Trump has rarely offered criticism of Putin, and when given the chance to expand upon his social media post during questions from reporters Friday in the Oval Office, he declined to do so. Instead, he said that he continued to believe Putin when the Russian leader says he wants peace.

“I believe him,” Trump said. “I think we’re doing very well with Russia, and right now they’re bombing the hell out of Ukraine. I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine. They don’t have the cards.”

Since taking office, Trump has harshly criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and falsely claimed that Ukraine – not Russia – was responsible for starting the war. An Oval Office meeting with Zelensky last week ended with Trump and Vice President JD Vance berating the Ukrainian leader. Vance declared that Zelensky was insufficiently grateful to Trump, and Trump accused Zelensky of “gambling with World War Three.”

Days later, Trump cut off U.S. military and intelligence assistance for Kyiv. The wide-ranging halt in assistance has partially blinded Ukraine’s military, with even commercially available satellite imagery now covered by the U.S. ban.

Maxar, a leading U.S. provider of commercial satellite imagery, said Friday it had cut off a stream of assistance to Ukraine at the direction of the Trump administration. The U.S. government funds a contract that provides Ukraine access to Maxar’s orbital imaging services through a program called Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery.

The halt also affected other commercial satellite companies that produce imagery through the program, a U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive matters. It was unclear when or whether services would resume.

The suspension was immediately felt by soldiers in the Ukrainian military, which relies on fresh imagery to plan attacks, study terrain and assess the efficacy of artillery strikes.

Ukrainian and U.S. officials are scheduled to meet Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to try to patch up the relationship and make plans for talks with Russia. The U.S. side is expected to include Trump’s friend and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Michael Waltz.

Zelensky has declared his readiness to sign a minerals deal that would grant the United States partial access to Ukraine’s natural resources as a way of making it more economically invested in the country’s peace and prosperity. Zelensky was supposed to sign the deal with Trump last week but was instead kicked out of the White House.

On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly vowed to swiftly end the war in Ukraine – going so far as to say he would do it within 24 hours of taking the oath of office or even before his inauguration because he’s respected by the leaders of Russia and Ukraine. But the war is still raging.

Trump has met with criticism for starting talks with Russia to end the war – and for pressuring and criticizing Ukraine. European leaders have been alarmed by the shift in U.S.-Russia relations since Trump took office. They have expressed concern that Trump will make concessions to Putin and embolden him.

Ukrainian officials report that several regions were hit by missiles and drones during the attack, and natural gas production facilities in the Poltava region were knocked out of commission. Missiles in the northeastern city of Kharkiv damaged at least 30 houses and injured eight people. The attack followed a major drone assault on Ukraine the night before.

According to Ukraine’s air force, 67 missiles were fired in the latest attack, accompanied by 194 drones.

Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook that “Russia is trying to hurt ordinary Ukrainians by striking energy and gas production facilities, without abandoning its goal of leaving us without light and heat, and causing the greatest harm to ordinary citizens.”