Trump believes he needs Russia – ex-Ukrainian foreign minister
US President Donald Trump truly believes that he can do “great things” with Russia, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has said. The ex-diplomat has rejected claims that by criticizing Ukraine, Trump was behaving like a Kremlin asset.
Since his inauguration, Trump has reversed the policies of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, and reopened direct negotiations with Moscow, fueling older speculations that a behind-the-scenes relationship existed between him and Russia.
“I will state an unpopular opinion. Trump isn’t receiving guidelines from the Kremlin in the morning,” Kuleba told the Ukrainian news website LIGA.net on Wednesday.
“At the same time, he is surrounded by people, and he believes that they and Russia can actually do a lot of good things together, and that he needs Russia. He doesn’t need Ukraine. It’s as simple as that. It’s the worldview he has,” he added.
Kuleba, who served as Ukraine’s top diplomat from 2020 to 2024, argued that “the media-active people in Trump’s entourage are pushing the narratives that we consider pro-Russian, and the Trump voters are eagerly spreading them on social media.”
“However, I don’t think that Trump is doing it because he is an agent [of Russia]. He sincerely believes in a worldview that is different from ours. We believe in one reality, and he believes in a different reality,” Kuleba said.
He went on to argue that Trump believes that leaders like presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China “command deep respect and the desire to do great things together.” Kuleba claimed that Trump likes Xi’s “style of governance” and that they “are on the same page, mentally.”
Trump labeled Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky a “dictator without elections” in February and blamed him for the ongoing conflict with Russia. Zelensky responded by claiming that Trump was trapped in a “disinformation bubble.”
