Four Years Into Russia-Ukraine War... Trump Still Withholds Pro-Ukraine Declaration

"If I had been president, the war would never have broken out"

AFP Yonhap News Agency

U.S. President Donald Trump ultimately did not issue a statement of support for Ukraine, which has reached the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of war, in his State of the Union address on the 24th (local time). Earlier, the United States also abstained from voting on a pro-Ukraine resolution adopted at the UN General Assembly, saying it could put a burden on ceasefire talks.

In his State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol that day, President Trump said of the war in Ukraine, "The war between Russia and Ukraine has resulted in 25,000 massacres," adding, "If I had been president, such a war would never have happened." However, he did not deliver any statement or remarks explicitly supporting Ukraine through to the end of the address.

This came even after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appeal for support, and Trump’s reference to Ukraine remained brief. President Zelenskyy had said in a public interview with CNN the previous day, "I hope that President Trump will support Ukraine, which is fighting against Russia, in his State of the Union address on the 24th."

The U.S. government also cast an abstention on the pro-Ukraine resolution adopted at the United Nations that day. At the UN General Assembly held earlier at UN Headquarters in New York before President Trump’s address, the pro-Ukraine resolution was adopted with the support of 107 countries out of 170 member states, including South Korea. The resolution expressed concern that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year, is causing serious and long-term consequences for Ukraine and for regional and international stability, and it reaffirmed strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.

In the vote on the resolution, 12 countries, including Russia, North Korea, and Belarus, voted against it. A total of 51 countries, including the United States and China, abstained. Deputy U.S. Representative to the United Nations Tammy Bruce explained that the United States abstained because "the text includes language that could hinder, rather than support, diplomatic efforts to end the war."