The US President suggests that he tried to push back when Russian leader Vladimir Putin told him ‘we have no choice but to attack’ in response to the latest Ukrainian operation deep inside Russia.

June 5, 2025

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he is “with Ukraine,” when asked about US support to the war-torn country.

“Yeah, I’m with Ukraine. We just signed a big deal on rare earth with Ukraine… You know what I’m for, stopping killing, really, that’s what I’m for again, a war that would have never started, should have never started,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as he welcomed Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Both leaders agreed that ending the war in Ukraine soon was a shared priority, Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent reports.

Merz touched down in Washington last night for talks on a range of issues amid differences over the conflict in Ukraine and trade tariffs.

In the Oval Office this afternoon, the German leader and Trump sat before cameras and shared pleasantries.

Merz gifted Trump a facsimile of the birth certificate of Trump’s German grandfather, Friedrich Trump.

The US President congratulated Merz on his election victory, and Merz commented on the appearance of the Oval Office, to which Trump replied, “we like things to be tippy top like they have in Germany.”

As the press gaggle turned to Ukraine, Merz went on to laud Trump as “key person” to stop the war, saying that he hoped the US and Germany could work together to bring it to an end.

“I am here to talk about how we could contribute to that goal” he said, adding, “we are looking for measures and instruments to bring this war to an end.”

He went on to remind Trump of June 6, the D-day anniversary, when the Americans once ended a war in Europe.

“In the long run, this was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship [and] we know what we owe you,” the German leader told Trump.

He then added: “America is again in a very strong position to do something on ending this war, so let’s talk about doing what we can.”

Merz said he was “looking for more pressure on Russia, we should talk about that.”

Trump replied by suggesting that the pair was “unhappy” about the state of war, but insisted they would be successful in stopping the “bloodbath going on over there,” comparing the war in Ukraine to children fighting on a schoolyard.

He then pushed back against a narrative that he was a friend of Putin, saying, “I am not friends with anybody”, when asked about whether he would favor more sanctions against Russia.

Asked whether he would put more sanctions on Russia, Trump said it will be “very, very tough” if it becomes clear that the war will not end soon. He then went on to emphasize: “It could be in both countries, to be honest, it takes two to tango.”

“We’re going to be very tough, whether it’s Russia or anybody else, we’re going to be very tough, that’s a bloodbath that’s going on over there,” Trump added.

The US President also suggested that he tried to push back when Russia’s Vladimir Putin told him “we have no choice but to attack” in response to the latest Ukrainian attacks inside Russia.“And it’s probably not going to be pretty. I don’t like it. I said, Don’t do it. You shouldn’t do it. You should stop it,” Trump told reporters.

Merz said he agreed with Trump on ending the war quickly. “I think we have the duty to do something about that now to stop it.”

Trump also mentioned the Nord Stream 2 pipeline again and that he stopped it from operating. 

When Merz admitted that “it was a mistake,” Trump acknowledges his comments, adding: “I used to go with Angela [Merkel], I’d say, Well, wait a minute, we’re spending all this money to defend you against Russia, and then you’re giving Russia billions of dollars a month. What kind of a deal is that?”

The US president also suggested he would be happy to keep US troops in Germany amid concerns about the ongoing review of the US force posture.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/54035