Former US President Trump has praised Russia's Putin for his strategy in eastern Ukraine, arguing that the Russian leader outmaneuvered Joe Biden by declaring the separatist republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (LPR) as sovereign states.
"I was watching TV and I said, 'This is genius.'"", Trump told radio host Buck Sexton in an interview on Tuesday.
"Putin declares large part of Ukraine independent", he added.
Trump was referring to Putin's announcement on Monday that Russia would immediately recognize the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
The Russian president followed up that decision by receiving parliamentary approval on Tuesday to send Russian forces to Donbass as peacekeepers for the DPR and LPR. However, he later clarified that the authorization does not mean that Russian troops will immediately deploy to the republics.
The former US commander-in-chief said such a turn of events would never have happened if he were still in office, accusing his predecessor of incompetence.
Biden announced economic sanctions against Moscow on Tuesday and the deployment of US forces to the Baltic region in response to what he called the 'beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine'.
Trump argued that Russia was essentially grabbing territory without serious consequences, which he said happened because Putin was a 'smart guy.'
