Trump says he was 'surprised' that Putin invaded Ukraine because he 'thought he was negotiating'

According to an interview with David Drucker of the Washington Examiner, Donald Trump said he was surprised when Putin invaded Ukraine.

Trump thought that Putin was going to negotiate with Ukraine.

I'm surprised. When he sent his troops to the border, I thought he was negotiating. Trump told Drucker in a phone interview that he thought he was negotiating. He said it was a tough way to negotiate but a smart way to do it.

He praised Putin's justification for invading Ukraine last month. Putin declared the pro-Kremlin regions of Luhansk and Donetsk to be independent republics. On February 24, the Russian leader ordered a special military operation in Ukraine, effectively declaring war on the country.

In the months leading up to the invasion, Putin had amassed about 150,000 troops.

He was going to make a good deal like everyone else did with the United States and the other people they tend to deal with. We have never made a good trade deal until I came along, Trump said. I think he has changed. It is a sad thing for the world. He is very much different.

The former president said in the interview that he has been very tough on Putin.

I got along with him very well. He said that he got along with most of the world leaders.

According to the Examiner, Trump repeated his claim that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if he had been president. He said he stood up to Russia by opposing theNord Stream 2 line and getting NATO billions of dollars.

The former president said that all the money was going against Russia.

According to former Trump administration officials, his actions and statements paved the way for Putin to invade Ukraine.

Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The articles of impeachment were related to Trump's efforts to strong-arm the Ukrainian President into launching politically motivated investigations against the Bidens ahead of the 2020 election and withholding vital military aid.

The hold on the security assistance was lifted after House Democrats launched an investigation into the matter.

Trump told the Group of Seven leaders that the peninsula was part of Russia. The leaders of other member states were surprised by his comments given that Russia&s decision to annex the peninsula led to its expulsion from the G8.

Before the G7 summit, Trump told reporters he believed Russia should be admitted back into the alliance, and he wondered aloud why world leaders sided with Ukraine over Russia.

A key witness in Trump's first impeachment who served as the Trump White House's top Russia expert recently told CNN that Trump said to Russia that it was a playground.

John Bolton, Trump's former national security advisor, told Mother Jones that Trump cared more about a "spaghetti bowl of conspiracy theories" than about Ukraine.