Trump Praises Putin For Invading Ukraine's Breakaway Regions: 'This Is Genius'

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send military forces into Ukraine, calling his plan “genius” and “savvy.”

During an appearance on a conservative radio talk show hosted by Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, Trump said it was “smart” of Putin to recognize the independence of Ukrainian breakaway republics Donetsk and Luhansk, commending the Russian president's reason for invading these regions.

"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius,’" Trump said. "Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine. Putin declares it as an independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. So, Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Ukraine. I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s the strongest peace force … We could use that on our southern border."

Trump also baselessly claimed that Putin chose to invade Ukraine now because he was no longer in the White House and that he had a better relationship with the Russian president than President Joe Biden does.

"I knew Putin very well. I got along with him great. He liked me. I liked him," Trump added.

The former president’s favorable remarks towards Putin come after he was impeached by Congress in 2019 for delaying approximately $400 million in security aid from Ukraine for at least a week over certain “concerns” about corruption.

A week after the hold on military funding, Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Biden and his son Hunter’s alleged corruption. He also asked Zelensky to pursue an investigation into a conspiracy theory that claimed it was Ukraine that interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to a transcript of the conversation released by the White House.

As of Tuesday, Russian troops have arrived in Ukraine’s Donbas region in what Kremlin labeled as a “peacekeeping mission.” It is unclear if the recent movement signals the beginning of an invasion of Ukraine.

The Biden administration is currently expecting Russia to continue to escalate the conflict in Ukraine but added that they are still hoping for a more diplomatic solution. The U.S. is preparing for a possible wave of refugees from Ukraine should Russia move forward with an invasion.