In an interview published this Thursday by the magazine TimePresident-elect Donald Trump, newly named person of the year, expressed strong opposition to Ukraine's use of long-range missiles supplied by the United States to strike targets in Russia. While condemning these actions, he nevertheless assured that he did not intend to abandon American support for kyiv.
“I am strongly opposed to sending missiles hundreds of kilometers inside Russia. Why are we doing this? […] We are only escalating this war and making it worse,” Trump said.
Maintain support for Ukraine
Despite his criticism, Donald Trump stressed that maintaining support for Ukraine was essential to achieving a resolution to the conflict. “The only way to reach an agreement is not to give up,” he said, adding that he wanted to find a negotiated outcome to the war in Ukraine.
According to Time, these remarks were made on November 25, before a meeting planned in Paris with Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky on the occasion of the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral. The ATACMS missiles, at the center of the controversy, have a maximum range of 300 kilometers and were recently used by kyiv to carry out strikes in Russia, triggering immediate anger from the Kremlin.
No comments from the Biden administration
For the outgoing administration, John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, declined to comment directly on Trump's statements. However, he recalled that the current policy of the Biden administration was to strengthen Ukraine's defensive capabilities so that Volodymyr Zelensky could present himself in a position of strength during possible peace negotiations.
Our file on the war in Ukraine
The controversy over the use of long-range missiles intensified as kyiv struck several targets in Russia using missiles supplied by the United States and the United Kingdom. These actions were described as provocations by Moscow. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to use the Orechnik hypersonic missile to target decision-making centers in kyiv as well as in Western countries supporting Ukraine. The Kremlin also promised a military response to a Ukrainian attack on a Russian military airfield with ATACMS missiles.
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