Trump blames Biden aid for prolonging Ukraine war

US President Donald Trump has said that the war in Ukraine has continued in part because of the scale of financial assistance provided to Kyiv by his predecessor, Joe Biden, arguing that such support prolonged the conflict.

While speaking at the briefing in the Oval Office, Trump claimed that without substantial US funding, the fighting might have ended earlier. He also stressed that the United States is geographically removed from the conflict, while European countries are more directly affected, yet Washington is still expected to bear a significant share of the burden.

"They made a mess out of Ukraine, a total mess, and we helped them with Ukraine. Ukraine has nothing to do with… You know, we're an ocean apart. It has to do with them. It's like for them, it's their front door, and we help them. And Biden gave them $350 billion, which was insane. It's one of the reasons the war went on."

Trump also indicated that he is considering reducing the number of US troops stationed in Europe, including in Germany, Italy and Spain, when asked about potential adjustments to American military deployments.

"Yeah, I probably will. You know, look, why shouldn't I? Italy has not been of any help to us, and Spain has been horrible."

Tensions between Washington and several European allies have also been heightened by their response to recent US and Israeli military action against Iran, launched on February 28. A number of NATO members, including Spain, Italy, Germany and France, declined to support the operation, citing concerns over escalation in the Middle East and refusing to provide logistical assistance.

Spain took particularly strong measures, fully closing its airspace to US military aircraft involved in the operation and prohibiting the use of Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base for strikes against Iran. Italy similarly restricted US operations, barring the use of Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily for missions beyond the scope of existing NATO agreements.

In response, Trump accused European countries of failing to support the operation and of being unwilling to help secure shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz. He publicly said Spain had behaved absolutely terribly and threatened to cut off trade relations with Madrid.

By Tamilla Hasanova