Trump criticizes Ukraine’s use of US missiles for attacks deep into Russia

President-elect Donald Trump sharply criticized Ukraine’s use of US-supplied missiles deep into Russian territory in a Time magazine interview published on Thursday, comments that suggest he would alter US policy toward Ukraine.

“It’s crazy what’s taking place. It’s crazy. I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We’re just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done,” Trump said in an interview coinciding with him being named Time’s “Person of the Year.”

President Joe Biden last month lifted the US ban on Ukraine using US-supplied longer-range missiles for strikes deep inside Russia, his latest attempt to boost Kyiv in its battle to repel a Russian invasion force from his country.

The decision came after pleas from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The White House cited Russia’s deployment of 15,000 North Korean troops along the battlefront as the main reason why Biden changed his mind.

Trump has said he would like to bring a quick end to the nearly three-year-old war. He told Time he had a “very good plan” to help but that if he reveals it now “it becomes almost a worthless plan.”

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, met last weekend with Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
He told Time that the number of people dying in the conflict is not sustainable.

“I’m talking on both sides. It’s really an advantage to both sides to get this thing done,” he said.