Russian President Vladimir Putin lavished praise on Donald Trump, claiming that the war in Ukraine would never have erupted had Trump been President of the United States in 2022. Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine officially began on February 24, 2022.

Putin made this statement during a meeting with Trump in Alaska on Friday (August 15) local time.

“I would like to remind you that in 2022, during my final contacts with the previous administration, I tried to convince my American counterpart that this situation should not reach the point of no return, which ultimately led to open hostilities,” Putin said at a joint press conference with Trump in Alaska, as reported by Russian state media TASS.

Putin stressed that ignoring those warnings amounted to a grave mistake.

“Today, when President Trump says that if he had been in office then, there would have been no war, I am quite certain that this is true. I can confirm that,” Putin stated.

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Putin has repeatedly justified the action as necessary to safeguard Russia’s security.

He has also consistently warned Ukraine to abandon its aspirations of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Kremlin believes that Ukraine’s membership could turn the country into a NATO missile base that might target or threaten Russia.

Since the invasion, the international community has repeatedly called for a permanent ceasefire, but such an agreement has yet to materialize.

At the onset of the conflict, Trump also claimed that such a war would never have broken out if he had been president. Later, during his 2024 presidential campaign, he promised that he could resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict quickly.

However, seven months after officially taking office, that rhetoric remains unfulfilled. U.S.-led efforts to broker a ceasefire have often stalled, with the Alaska summit likewise failing to produce a tangible agreement.

Trump has also expressed growing frustration with Putin. At one point, he even clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House after Zelensky rejected his proposal to end the war.

Trump reportedly suggested that Ukraine hand over territories annexed by Russia, but Zelensky refused, firmly stating his commitment to defending his nation’s sovereignty.