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Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy confronted national security adviser Mike Waltz on Thursday over who the U.S. thinks is to blame for the Russia-Ukraine war..
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment on Thursday.
Why It Matters
Doocy's questioning comes amid a dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy vis-a-vis Ukraine and Russia. The Biden administration, in conjunction with the U.S.'s European allies, made clear that Russia violated international laws by launching an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
The West subsequently isolated Russian President Vladimir Putin and levied crippling economic sanctions on Russia, while sending billions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine to help it fight off Putin's aggression.
But Trump reversed much of that policy last week, when he spoke to Putin on the phone about the war in Ukraine—a conversation that Zelensky was not part of. The U.S. also sent a delegation to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to meet with Russian officials for a discussion on ending the conflict. Ukraine was not a part of that meeting either.
Trump escalated tensions another notch when he amplified Russian talking points on Wednesday by falsely suggested on Truth Social that Zelensky was a "dictator" and that Kyiv had started the war.
What To Know
Doocy grilled Waltz on Thursday about the shift in policy and pointed to Trump's Truth Social post, which also claimed, without evidence, that the U.S. spent more than $350 billion toward Ukraine.
"After the president's post on Truth Social yesterday, I need to know—who does he think is more responsible for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin or Zelensky?" Doocy asked.
Waltz didn't directly answer Doocy's question but said Trump's goal is to "bring this war to an end, period. And there has been ongoing fighting on both sides. It is World War I-style trench warfare. His frustration with President Zelensky that you've heard is multifold."
He continued: "There needs to be a deep appreciation for what the American people, what the American taxpayer, what President Trump did in his first term and what we've done since. So some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump were unacceptable."
Waltz went on to talk about the Trump administration's offer of an economic partnership involving Ukraine's minerals and other resources that Trump says would help guarantee Ukraine's long-term security, while recouping the financial aid the U.S. sent to Ukraine during the Biden administration.
"Rather than enter into some constructive conversations about what that deal should be going forward, we got a lot of rhetoric in the media that was incredibly unfortunate," Waltz told Doocy.
The national security adviser also compared the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to the Russia-Ukraine war.
"So many people in Washington that were just demanding, pounding the table for a ceasefire in Gaza are suddenly aghast that the president would demand one and both sides come to the table when it comes to Ukraine—a war that has been arguably far greater in scope and scale and far more dangerous in terms of global escalation to U.S. security," Waltz said.
Zelensky fired back by saying Trump "lives in this disinformation space."
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said at a press conference on Tuesday, "We have a situation where we haven't had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine, I hate to say it, but he's down at 4 percent approval rating, and where a country has been blown to smithereens."
The Ukrainian constitution does not allow for the country to hold elections when it's under martial law, as Ukraine has been since Putin invaded in 2022. There is also no credible polling in Ukraine that shows Zelensky at a 4 percent approval rating.
Zelensky, referring to Trump's comments, told reporters: "We have seen this disinformation, we understand that it is coming from Russia ... [Trump] lives in this disinformation space."
What Happens Next
Trump and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov have both said that Ukraine would participate in the peace negotiations in some way.
Zelensky told NBC News' Kristen Welker on Meet the Press last week: "I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine, never."
He added: "This is the war in Ukraine, against us, and it's our human losses."
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About the writer
Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more