Two Trump officials decline to say Russia started the war in Ukraine

Source: NBC News

Feb. 23, 2025, 12:22 PM EST


Two Trump administration officials publicly declined to characterize Russia as the provocateur in its war against Ukraine, despite the war having begun when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Asked during an interview with “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream whether it was fair to say Russia attacked Ukraine unprovoked three years ago tomorrow, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was “fair to say it’s a very complicated situation.”

The comments come after President Donald Trump upended the prior U.S. position on Ukraine by falsely calling Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” and laying blame on Ukraine for Russia’s invasion, despite Russia having launched an invasion of Ukraine in 2022 after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin advanced false information about the history and governance of Eastern Europe.

Earlier in the Fox News interview, Hegseth said he did not “need to get into the characterization of — we know who invaded who. We understand the stakes of this game.”

When pressed on why some have expressed hesitance in stating who was responsible for the start of the war, Hegseth responded by asking whether “finger-pointing and pearl-clutching” would make peace more likely. “Standing here and saying, ‘You’re good, you’re bad; you’re a dictator, you’re not a dictator; you invaded, you didn’t.’ It’s not useful. It’s not productive,” said Hegseth.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-administration-officials-decline-russia-started-ukraine-war-rcna193357