President Trump claims Ukraine ‘started’ the war with Russia

British politics is dominated once again by the war in Ukraine, and the impact of the Russian invasion on wider European security. Not for the first time though, the headlines have been led by President Trump. 

Speaking overnight following talks between US and Russian officials, Mr Trump appeared to suggest that Ukraine “started” the conflict with Russia.

He said: “Today I heard [from Ukraine], ‘we weren’t invited’. Well, you’ve been there for three years, you should have ended it three years [ago], you should’ve never started it. You could have made a deal.”

Russia has often sought to blame Ukraine for the conflict, including in its justification for launching its full-scale invasion in 2022. German fact checkers DW Fact Check have previously looked in detail at Russia’s claims that Ukraine started the war.

Full Fact’s chief executive Chris Morris writes:

It is a fact that Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, in violation of international law. It is also a fact that Russia launched a full scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but failed to achieve its initial goal of taking the capital, Kyiv.

Why Russia took those actions is a matter of opinion, and is the subject of often venomous political debate. 

What is new here is that President Trump has broken the western consensus that Russia was and is at fault for the war in Ukraine. And that will have lasting implications in Westminster, across Europe, and for the future of the western alliance.  

Chris has also just written in response to US Vice President JD Vance’s remarks over the weekend about freedom of speech and democracy—you can read his ‘JD Vance is wrong, facts are not opinions’ blog here.