Trump criticized European leaders as "weak", saying that Russia had the upper hand over Ukraine

US President Trump said that Russia has gained a stronger military advantage in the war in Ukraine. He also criticized European leaders for being "weak" and only talking the talk, and hinted that the US might reduce its support for Ukraine.

According to reports from Bloomberg and the BBC, Trump said in an exclusive interview published by the US news website Politico on Tuesday (December 9th) : "Russia has the upper hand." They are larger in scale and stronger in strength.

When asked if Europe could help end the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump said, "They just talk the talk and don't do it." The war thus went on and on without end.

He criticized the "declining" European countries for failing to control immigration and take decisive action to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and accused Europe of allowing Kyiv to "fight until the very end".

In response to this, British Foreign Secretary Cooper said that all she saw in Europe was "strength", and listed Europe's investment in defense and assistance to Kyiv.

She also said that two presidents "are working for peace" (referring to Trump and Zelensky), while the other president - President Putin - is only intent on escalating the conflict by launching more drones and missiles.

Last week, a US national security strategy document signed by Trump stated that European governments "have unrealistic expectations of this war."

Trump restated this statement in an interview with Politico.

When asked whether Ukraine had lost the war, Trump mentioned that Russia had occupied large areas of Ukrainian land. At present, Russia controls about one fifth of Ukraine's territory.

He said, "I highly appreciate the courage, fighting spirit and various efforts of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian army." But generally speaking, at some point, the advantage of size will eventually prevail, and it (Russia) is a huge size.

Trump also once again called on Kyiv to hold elections, claiming that Kyiv "used the war as an excuse" to refuse to hold elections.

He said, "You know, they keep talking about democracy, but at some point, it's no longer democratic."

Zelensky said in a post on X on Tuesday night that Ukraine and Europe are actively advancing "all possible steps to end the war", stating that the peace plan incorporating elements of Ukraine and Europe has been further refined and that Kyiv is preparing to submit this plan to "our partners in the United States".

Since Trump returned to the White House this year, there have been obvious differences in the positions of the United States and Europe on the Ukraine issue. As the Trump administration ended its financial support for Kyiv, the cost of European aid to Ukraine kept rising.

In the process of attempting to mediate the peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, Trump has gradually shown more sympathy for Russia's demands, and his diplomatic efforts have largely excluded European Allies.