Trump explains siding with Putin on sanctions. Analyst reacts

Ukraine is assessing the damage. from an overnight barrage. of ballistic missiles. from Russia and Ukraine's president, saying once again. his country received no advance. warning from its partners. Tensions between Washington. and Kiev are spiking. Over the weekend, Ukraine defied President Trump. and launch one of its biggest. drone attacks on Russia. this year, hitting an oil terminal. And that comes after Trump. suspended sanctions on Russia. and buy. diesel fuel from the regime. that invaded Ukraine. President Zelenskyy. has bitterly criticized.

this deal that benefits Moscow. Can Ukraine win this war. without the United States? President Zelensky? Very difficult. It fits. with all the United States support. It's very difficult. But if the United States. will support Putin, I mean, it's unbelievable. It's tragedy. It's historic mistake. Kristen, what are you hearing from. the administration? Well, the administration is clearly not happy. with Zelensky's words there.

We saw President Trump. lashing out overnight. I want to show you exactly. what he posted. It's very lengthy screed, but I do want to read. at least some parts of it. It says my decision on Russia. is a very simple one. And of course, Pamela, as he's talking about there, you mentioned this. invoking that waiver to. really exempt Russia. from these sweeping economic penalties. He says, I'm in the process. of negotiating peace in the war. between Russia and Ukraine. And I don't want to do anything. that will drive foolishly Russia away.

from the bargaining table. He goes on to say. Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help. the Islamic Republic of Iran. compared to what they could be doing. So that's interesting in itself, and I want to keep it that way. and will unless stupid. people get in the way. Lastly, Zelenskyy. is using diesel refineries. in Russia. as a target. knowing these attacks. are seriously hurting the world. diesel market, including those in the United States. And then he takes it. to a whole other level. Things like he doesn't care. And frankly, with all the money. that Europe is famously giving him.

and Crooked. Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn't want this war to end. and probably never did. Now, we've made accusations. like this before, but you can just see this escalation. I mean, a reminder. On Friday, he was asked specifically. about his relationship with Zelensky. and after. first saying he was frustrated with them, then he said they had a good working. relationship. Now we're back to this. And there has been bipartisan criticism, I mean, including from Republicans. on this effort. to waive these sanctions for Russia. So you saw Chris Wright, the Secretary of Energy, trying to defend that over the weekend. Here's what he said.

He didn't. end the Lindsey Graham sanctions. He just suspended the enforcement. for now. He had 30 days to look at it. Because there's a lot of moving parts. in this conflict right now. that those powers are all. still there for him. to be used at the appropriate time. And just a reminder, Lindsey Graham had been a big proponent. of pushing that bill. while he was still alive. That's why he said. he didn't end the Lindsey. Graham sanctions. But if you're looking at. President Trump's. words and looking at what.

Chris Wright. said, it appears that the reason is. because he's. trying to placate. Russia by here. saying that he doesn't. want to do anything to rock the boat, particularly with the war in Iran, which is not going to be an answer. that a lot of people want to hear. Thanks so much for joining. us, ambassador. The president says. this waiver on sanctions is in the U.S. national interest. Do you agree? Well, he hasn't. explained how. it's in the US national interest. And, I would say that.

it's certainly. going to put money. in the Kremlin's coffers. It's going to prolong the war in Ukraine. because Russia can continue that. And we have every reason to think. that Russia. will continue to assist Iran as well. So I don't see how. this is actually helping the U.S., and it hasn't been explained. The president, President Trump, is defending the deal. by saying, and I'm quoting him now, I am in the process of negotiating peace. in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don't want to do anything.

that will drive. foolishly Russia away. from the bargaining table. End quote. Does that strike you. as a valid reason to. waive these sanctions? And, quite the opposite. If there's any indication. that Russia is actually. at the bargaining table, which I doubt, it's. because of the pressure that they feel. It is the finances. It is the economy. It is Ukraine's long range strikes. that are hitting their refineries, their energy capacity,

and it is their losses. on the battlefield. Without that, Russia would have no incentive. whatsoever to end this war. So in order to get to an end of the war. And that's what President. Trump says that he wants, he wants to end the war. We need to see more pressure. on Vladimir Putin, not less. What does a move like this. say to our European allies, who are also trying to pressure. Russia right now to end the war? Yeah, it says very much. that you're on your own. And in fact, the U.S.

may be undermining. what the efforts are that you're taking. They are trying to ratchet down. any consumption of Russian oil. and gas down to 0 in 2027. They are funding Ukraine's state budget. They are buying American. weapons and ammunition. to supply them to Ukraine. They are borrowing against Russia's. frozen assets. to provide that money to Ukraine. They're doing everything that they can. The U.S. has not put any money.

into assisting Ukraine. since President Trump. took office in the second term. So they are doing a lot. And then to see that the U.S. is adopting a posture. that will actually provide. money to the Kremlin, that is really rather. dismaying for our European allies. It certainly is. A source is telling CNN ambassador. that Ukraine has now run out of missiles. for the U.S., made Patriot. air defense missile system. And that leaves Ukraine. clearly much more vulnerable. to these ongoing Russian.

ballistic missile attacks. And just a short time ago, President Zelenskyy. posted this on social media. Quote, there are also delays. in certain types of vital supplies. at the level of the U.S. Department of War. Zelenskyy also says. it would be very difficult. to win this war without U.S. support. Is President Trump. essentially prolonging this war? Well, definitely. prolonging the war there. There is no way that Putin. will end the war.

without pressure to do so. And by lifting that pressure, it is encouraging Putin. just to keep going. Ukraine defending their lives, their country, their people. They don't have a choice. They have to defend themselves. So they will continue to do so. And they have proven. to be. far more innovative. and capable than anyone expected. Just as an example, all of the gains. that Russia made on the battlefield. since last fall have been erased.

by Ukraine's counter, offensives. Their return advances, eliminating those gains. And it has come at an extraordinary. cost in lives, to the Russian military, probably 300,000. plus soldiers. removed from the battlefield. So Putin is not able to win this war. He needs to stop it. And the best way to get him to stop. it is to apply pressure. to get him to do so, like U.S. sanctions, which have now been lifted. The Secretary of state, Marco Rubio, says there could be a meeting. between President Trump,

Russian President Vladimir Putin. and the Chinese leader XI. Jinping on ending Russia's war. with Ukraine. Ukraine's foreign. minister says that meeting. would actually encourage. Putin to continue this war. What do you think? Well, it's several things. First off, it makes President. Trump look rather weak to agree. to a meeting like that, because it is Putin. and XI ganging up on Trump. to say, do something about Ukraine. Second, there.

shouldn't be any meeting. like that. about the future of Ukraine. without Ukraine being there. So it needs to be. with President Zelensky. You might as well ask. Why don't you have a Trump meeting. to decide the future of Russia? Yeah. Important point. Ambassador Kurt Volker, thanks so much for joining us. Joining me now is Democratic Congressman. Mike Quigley of Illinois. He sits on the House. Intelligence Committee. He's a co-chair of the. Congressional Ukraine Caucus. It's good to see you. On this question.

of intelligence sharing, Congressman Zelensky is basically saying. this now. makes multiple times in a week. that the intelligence. that there have been. no warnings. that the intelligence. has been paused or disrupted. Marco Rubio denied. that US that the US has paused Intel. sharing in the first place at all. Have they? The ranking member of. the Intel Committee, Jim Himes, has asked.

the, Department of Defense. if there has been any change. in our assistance on intelligence. as they are required to tell us, at this point in time, we've been. There has been no response. So I have to take. the Ukrainians word for. And, of course, since it's their lives. that are on the line, I have every reason to believe them. I mean, the fact is, just last week, after 30. Ukrainians were killed in an attack, the president announced he was, going to lift sanctions. on Russian diesel fuel and that U.S.

was going to buy it. So it's pretty clear President Trump has. now officially taken sides. with the tyrant. Putin in the war with Ukraine, an aspect to where things. are and where things are going. Is this other piece that I'm. we have we're learning more. about Putin. proposing a meeting. between Russia, China. and the US to decide. how to end Russia's war on Ukraine. Rubio confirms. that there have been some possible. talks about a meeting, though it seems.

it's not like. Trump has signed on to anything yet. The Wall Street Journal. first reported. that Putin has suggested. that this meeting happen next month, on the sidelines. of the next global summit. that's to take place in China. If President Trump. would go along with a meeting like this. What is that going to mean? It means he wants Russia to win. There's just no other way. to look at this. He's never picked sides in this conflict.

He has never acknowledged. that Russia invaded Ukraine. He has never asked for. an additional military. supplemental to help Ukraine. So at this point, he is clearly funding the. Russian war machine. And the fact that to this bitter. irony, he's calling upon two countries. that I would argue are helping Russia, in this conflict, to move forward. Just tells us that he's again.

he's pick sides here. It's an affront to what. we are as a country. The new world order. created after the Second World War. That liberal democratic world order it. It's over. We're seeing a change in alliances. That's a once in a lifetime. I'm not sure how this damage. can be repaired. Even after President Trump, leaves office. I'm not sure how the US rebuilds.

that order. How it maintains a democratic world order. that we built. You say that in your view. that the. President Trump is now. clearly funding the Russia war machine. Donald, President Trump, on Friday, I think what you're getting at. is the, the what. President Trump signed on Friday, which was this exemption. to sanctions. that Congress agreed to became law, but written into law was an ability. for the president to have an exemption. The president.

explained his reasoning for signing. the exemption, and he explained it this way. My decision on. Russia is a very simple one. I am in the process. of negotiating peace in a. in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don't want to do anything. that will drive foolishly Russia away. from the bargaining table. And he goes on in the Social Post. to say Zelensky doesn't care. about diesel prices. And frankly, with all the money. that Europe is famously giving him. and that Crooked Joe. Biden gave him in the past, he doesn't want to end this war.

and probably never did. What do you make of that reasoning? Let's putting aside the recent law. we passed to sanction Russia in 2022, we passed a law. that said that they can't. we cannot buy energy from Russia. So he's violating that law. Look, I, I voted for the recent sanctions package, knowing the president. would probably do this. because I wanted to be consistent.

And I think the majority of Congress. wanted to be consistent and help Ukraine. Majority of Congress stands with Ukraine. This is a president that's gone rogue. And in anti-democratic way. So he's violating the law. He was serious about this. He would give Ukraine the tools. it needs to succeed to. But when it comes down to it, I think from. Ukraine is profiting from. this is ludicrous. I've heard from. so many members of Congress. what the I've heard from so many members.

of Congress, the anger and frustration. and outrage that you have. Republican and Democrat alike. And I have heard again and again. The president is in violation of the law. But what can Congress do about it? There's this like step. that seems to be logically, rationally missing. He's in violation of the law, but it's still going to happen. That doesn't make sense. to a lot of people. What can Congress do? Look, he. he's been in violation of law. for over. six years now. in his first and his second term.

He's basically found an opening. in the Constitution, and that is. What are you going to do about it? You know, even if Supreme Court. will rule against them. I still believe he'll do whatever. he thinks he wants. There is only one remedy. in the Constitution. When the president violates the law. And that's for Congress. to impeach the president. I voted twice for that. I suspect. they'll be another effort. after the House and Senate changes hands.

And I think the Republicans. won't stand with us. They're more worried about their party. They're more worried. about keeping their own office. than defending the Constitution. and who we are as a country. I know it's desperate, and I know that it's frustrating, but the fact of the matter. is this president realizes. that he can get away with it, and he's basically thumbing. his nose at the process.