US President Donald Trump sparked controversy after he suggested that Ukraine may become Russia’s “someday” ahead of the vice president’s meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to CNN, in an interview with Fox News aired on Monday, February 10, 2025, Trump, while discussing his government's efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, said that Ukraine might make a deal or could become part of Russia.
Ahead of a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vice President JD Vance, the 78-year-old told Fox News, “They (Ukraine) may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday.”
Later, on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, when reporters at a news briefing in Moscow asked Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov about Trump’s comments, he said, “It is a fact that a significant part of Ukraine wants to become Russia, and the fact that it has already become Russia is (undeniable). This is a fact that has happened on the ground, four new Russian regions.”
"The people who, despite the many dangers, stood in queues and voted in the referendum for joining the Russian Federation, this largely corresponds to the words of President Trump… Any phenomenon occurs with a 50% probability, either yes or no," he added.
Furthermore, Trump also stressed that the US wants to see benefit from its aid to Ukraine in the form of Kyiv’s rare minerals and revealed that “they’ve essentially agreed to” trade “equivalent, like $500 billion rare earth.”
