Trump says Putin's invasion plan was 'GENIUS', praises 'savvy' move to send the 'strongest peacekeeping force in the world' to take over Ukrainian breakaway regions and says US should do the same at the southern border
Donald Trump praised Vladimir Putin's plan to invade Ukraine as 'genius' and called the Russian leader 'very savvy' on Tuesday, hours after he put out a statement saying Russia would have never invaded Ukraine under his watch.
Speaking with conservative podcaster Buck Sexton, the former president said: 'I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, "This is genius,"' Trump recalled. 'Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine -- Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful.'
'I said, "How smart is that?'" the former U.S. president continued. 'And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s the strongest peace force… We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right.'
'No, but think of it. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy,' Trump went on. 'I know him very well. Very, very, very well. Had I been in office, not even thinkable, this never would have happened.'
Trump added: 'But here’s a guy that says, you know, 'I’m gonna declare a big portion of Ukraine independent,' he used the word 'independent' and 'we’re gonna go out and we’re gonna go in and we’re gonna help keep peace.' You gotta say that’s pretty savvy. And you know what the response was from Biden? There was no response. They didn’t have one for that. No, it’s very sad. Very sad.'
Trump also called President Biden 'a man who has no concept of what he's doing.'
Earlier Tuesday Trump claimed that Vladimir Putin never would have invaded Ukraine if he were still president, and said that Russia has become 'very very rich' under President Biden.
'If properly handled, there was absolutely no reason that the situation currently happening in Ukraine should have happened at all,' Trump said in a statement Tuesday. 'I know Vladimir Putin very well, and he would have never done during the Trump Administration what he is doing now, no way!'
Trump hit out against Biden's 'weak sanctions.'
'The weak sanctions are insignificant relative to taking over a country and a massive piece of strategically located land. Now it has begun, oil prices are going higher and higher, and Putin is not only getting what he always wanted, but getting, because of the oil and gas surge, richer and richer.'
Trump hit out against Biden's 'weak sanctions'
Gas prices have already surged to an eight-year high, and are expected to rise even more as the crisis between Russia and Ukraine escalates.
Biden promised his administration was using 'every tool at our disposal' to limit the effect on gas prices back at home, but acknowledged that Americans would see price rises at the pump.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling on President Biden to get tough with sanctioning Russia after it moved troops into eastern Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday sent troops into the pro-Russian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as he declared those regions independent republics and no longer a part of Ukraine.
On Tuesday Biden announced his 'first tranche' of sanctions that included new financial restrictions on two of Russia largest banks, VEB and the military bank, specific Russian oligarchs, and cutting the nation off from Western financing.
Biden imposed some new sanctions on Monday prohibiting trade with the Kremlin-backed regions, but administration officials initially refused to call Putin's move an 'invasion.' The Biden administration has insisted that it uses sanctions as leverage and is trying to stave off a full-blown invasion.
However on Tuesday, the administration admitted that Putin's move constitutes an 'invasion,' the red line Biden said would result in severe sanctions on Moscow.
'We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia's latest invasion into Ukraine,' said Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser, said in an interview on CNN. 'An invasion is an invasion and that is what is underway.'
The president is expected to announced more sanctions Tuesday.
Republicans and Democrats urged Biden to use every sanction in his arsenal before Putin fully invades.
President Biden imposed some new sanctions on Monday prohibiting trade with the Kremlin-backed regions
'Joe Biden has refused to take meaningful action, and his weakness has emboldened Moscow,' Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote on Twitter.
She called on Biden to 'immediately' impose sanctions on the Nord Stream II pipeline that runs from Russia to Germany and to remove Russia from the SWIFT international banking system.
Germany announced Tuesday it was pulling the plug on Nord Stream II after Russia's move.
'It should never have reached this point. There was no good reason for President Biden to kill the Keystone XL pipeline last year while greenlighting Nord Stream 2 at the same time. It made absolutely zero sense. Very bad play calls that were the exact opposite of what was needed,' Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., wrote on Twitter.
Biden last year lifted sanctions on the pipeline as a diplomatic favor to Germany, arguing the pipeline was already 98% complete anyways.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Monday that Biden had signed an executive order that 'will prohibit new investment, trade, and financing by U.S. persons to, from, or in the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine. We will also soon announce additional measures related to today's blatant violation of Russia's international commitments.'
She said that Biden would announce new sanctions on Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday sent troops into the pro-Russian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as he declared those regions independent republics and no longer a part of Ukraine
A tank drives along a street in Donetsk, Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of Russian troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine
Military vehicles are seen on the move on Monday night in Donetsk
Waving Russian flags, people celebrated the latest announcement in the streets in Donetsk, Ukraine on Monday, February 21
Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called on Biden to impose 'devastating sanctions against the Kremlin and its enablers.'
'The President should waste no time in using his extensive existing authorities to impose these costs.'
'Now is not the time for symbolic pinpricks that will serve only to embolden Putin and endanger our friends in Ukraine,' said Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Mike Rogers, R-Ala., in a statement.
'Putin's obsession with restoring the old Soviet Union has led to unprovoked and unnecessary aggressive military action,' said Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga. 'Biden should have issued sanctions long ago.'
'The time for taking action to impose significant costs on President Putin and the Kremlin starts now,' said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who is close with the president, according to Politico. 'We must swiftly join our NATO allies and partners in the European Union to impose forceful new sanctions on Russia, on all those responsible for this dangerous violation of international law, and to provide emergency support for Ukraine.'
'It's really important that we impose the sanctions now,' New Jersey Democrat Rep. Tom Malinowski said after returning from the Munich Security Conference, where Vice President Kamala Harris met with Western allies to discuss the path forward should Russia invade.
'This seizure of additional Ukrainian territory should trigger the start of the sanctions,' Malinowski said.
'The Biden administration and our European allies must not hesitate in imposing crushing sanctions. There must be tangible, far-reaching and substantial costs for Russia in response to this unjustified act,' said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., Foreign Relations committee chair.
More than 10,000 soldiers entered separatist-occupied areas overnight, a source with links to Ukrainian military intelligence told MailOnline, with 6,000 sent to Donetsk, 5,000 to Luhansk and 1,500 to the city of Horlivka. 'It is difficult to believe [Putin] could have moved that quickly - but he had a long time to prepare,' the source said.
Meanwhile Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin's order to recognise Donetsk and Luhansk as independent stretches to the entire provinces - not just the areas currently occupied by rebels - raising the prospect he is about to launch a land-grab and spark direct confrontation with Ukrainian troops dug into trenches there.
As Russia's troops rolled in, fighting in the region escalated - with shells striking a power plant on the Ukrainian side of the line Tuesday morning after explosions killed two of Kiev's men and wounded 12 overnight.
Putin claimed the troops would be moving in to carry out peace-keeping operations.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, dismissed 'as nonsense' Putin's announcement that Russian troops would be in the separatist area known as Donbas as peacekeepers, saying their presence is 'clearly the basis for Russia's attempt to create a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine.' She said he gave the world a choice, and it 'must not look away' because 'history tells us that looking the other way in the face of such hostility will be a far more costly path.'
The U.N. Security Council set a rare nighttime emergency meeting at the request of Ukraine, the U.S. and other countries.
Ukrainian service members participate in tactical drills at a training ground in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Tuesday
Ukrainians are preparing for Russian forces to arrive on their doorsteps after coming onto the country's soil Monday evening after recognizing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine as independent states
Putin received no support for his move at the summit, with even close ally China urging diplomacy and a peaceful solution to the crisis.
Russia happens to hold the Security Council's rotating presidency this month and wanted the meeting to be closed, but diplomats said they agreed to an open session under intense pressure from Western and other members.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, a member of the Banking Committee, called on Biden to implement all of the sanctions he has been preparing. 'I have worked with my Senate colleagues to ensure the president has the tools to sanction Russia's leaders, its banking and financial sectors, and other critical industries. Now is the time for these tools to begin to be used.'
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