"It was the apple of his eye": Trump says Putin warned him of plans to invade Ukraine, boasting of a good relationship with the dictator

U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump has once again recalled how he led the country in the past and "contacted" Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. He expressed his belief that the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops "would never have happened on his watch."

The Republican boasted of his "good relationship" with the international war criminal while speaking at an event at the city hall in Oaks, Eastern Pennsylvania. His words were quoted by The Telegraph.

"I get along very well with Putin," he told his supporters, many of whom wore hats with the words "Make America Great Again".

Speaking about the Russian dictator's decision to invade Ukraine, Trump assured that he knew about it, "It was the apple of his eye he used to talk about it, but I said ‘you’re not going in'."

The Republican once again mentioned his former opponent in US elections, the current president Joe Biden, saying, "It’s only because of Biden, [Putin] looked at this guy, he can’t even believe it."

Trump claimed to have a good relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy too, saying he "is going to try to get that war ended as president elect."

"Biden has done nothing about it - he hasn’t even spoken to Putin in over a year. This is a war that has to end and I’m going to get that war ended...I’m going to try to get that war ended as president elect," Trump boasted.

The American media noted that such statements come after extracts from journalist Bob Woodward’s upcoming book, War, revealed that Trump had several conversations with Putin after leaving office.

As reported, retired U.S. Colonel John Nagl, who is now a professor of warfare at the U.S. Army War College, expressed his belief that Russia has bet on Trump. He suggested that Russian dictator Putin's hope for a "relatively easy victory" in the war against Ukraine depends on whether the Republican wins the US election. He added that the aggressor is ready to suffer losses to wait for this to happen.

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