President-elect Donald Trump on Monday condemned the human cost of Russia’s war against Ukraine, claiming the death toll on “both sides” was likely much higher than reported.
“We’re trying to stop the war, that horrible, horrible war that’s going on in Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine,” President Trump said Monday at Mar-a-Lago. “We will move forward little by little, and it will be difficult, messy and messy.”
President Trump then described in graphic detail how Ukraine’s flat terrain contributed to high battlefield casualties.
“People are being killed at a level that no one has ever seen before. It’s a very flat field and the only thing stopping the bullet is the body, the human body,” the president-elect said.
“The number of soldiers killed on both sides is astronomical,” the president-elect added. “What’s going on there, from both sides, is much worse than what people are reporting, so we’re going to do our best, and we’ve been doing our best, and what happens is… Let’s see.”
President Trump vowed to end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office, but he has yet to offer a meaningful peace plan. President Trump has warned that U.S. support for Ukraine is likely to decline if he takes office.
Regarding the war in Gaza, President Trump said, “We are going to provide very strong support to get the hostages back.”
“We’re working hard on that,” Trump said, without providing further details.
During his presidency, he repeatedly falsely claimed that there was “no war.” At least 65 U.S. service members have died in hostilities during Trump’s presidency, according to military records. Trump was president during the war in Afghanistan, and as president he ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad airport.
This post has been updated with additional details.
