CLEVELAND — President Trump has blamed Ukraine for the Russian invasion of their country in 2022. The comments came when he was asked Tuesday in Florida about the U.S.-led negotiations that had taken place earlier that day in Saudi Arabia with Russia but not Ukraine.
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"I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it's going very well," Trump said. "But today I heard, 'Oh well, we weren't invited.' Well, you've been there for three years you should've ended it in three years. You should've never started it. You could have made a deal."
"It's blaming the victim," said Andy Fedynsky, director of the Ukrainian Museum Archives in Tremont. "You know Ukraine did not start the war; Putin and Russia started the war."
"I think President Trump is ignoring all of these realities, and in fact, he sounds like he's repeating Kremlin talking points," he said.
Dr. George Jaskiw, head of the United Ukrainian Organizations of Ohio, agrees.
"We are very distressed; we think this is a threat to American security. We think that President Putin has given our president total disinformation," Jaskiw said, adding that he doesn't believe anyone in President Trump's inner circle is willing to set the record straight.
"So we're very concerned again that the president is not gotten the correct information, and without that information, he won't be able to make decisions which are in the best interests of our own country."
Among those willing to do that three years ago when the war started would have been Republican Senator Rob Portman, who was co-chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus. News 5 reached out to current Senators Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted and Northeast Ohio Congressman Max Miller for a reaction to the president's comments, but none were available.
In a statement an aide to Husted tells News 5; "The senator believes everyone wants to see the war in Ukraine come to an end, on a fair basis and with appropriate security guarantees. He's hopeful Pres. Trump and Sec. Rubio will be able to bring this to a conclusion that everyone can live with."
Senator Moreno told News 5 last year that he would strongly oppose additional aid to Ukraine.
"What we need to do is we need to drive towards peace. We need to make certain that we put a peaceful settlement of that conflict and end it and move on and not fund another stalemate," Moreno said. A position held also at the time by then Ohio Senator and now Vice President JD Vance.
Northeast Ohio Ukrainian leaders would embrace peace provided it's negotiated with Ukraine at the table, and they say they are more than happy to help our leaders in Washington be a voice for that end.
"We will work with Senator Moreno, Senator Husted and we will do whatever we can to give them the information they would need to use to do what's best for Ohio," said Jaskiw.
In the meantime, Andy Fedynsky believes that despite the departures of Portman, Sherrod Brown, and other Ukrainian supporters, the support of Congress as a whole remains strong.
"If votes, and that's a big if, if votes are allowed to proceed, there will be overwhelming support for Ukraine given the geopolitical stakes involved. This is not just about Ukraine's independence and sovereignty; it's about protecting Europe and indeed, the global order," he said.
