Donald Trump Says Russia's Invasion Tactics Of Ukraine Are 'Genius'

Donald Trump has sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin, describing the recent recognition of the 'independent' Donbas and Luhansk regions as 'genius'.

After formally recognising the the separatist, so-called people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, Putin ordered troops into the rebel-held region. It's estimated there are now more than 190,000 Russian troops along the border of Ukraine, and while Putin insists they're part of a 'peacekeeping' operation, many fear it's to create a pretext for a full-scale invasion.

US President Joe Biden was set to meet with Putin, but that's 'certainly is not in the plans' anymore amid rising tensions, sanctions against Russia and Biden's committal to send troops to the Baltics to 'defend every inch of NATO territory'.

'At every step, we have shown that the United States and our Allies and partners are working in unison. We are united in our support for Ukraine. We are united in our opposition to Russia’s aggression. We are united in our resolve to defend our Alliance,' Biden tweeted.

While speaking to conservative talk show hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton from his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump had nothing but praise for the Russian leader, echoing their cosy relationship while he was in power.

'I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine – of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful,' he said, as per The Independent.

'I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper,' Trump continued, describing the Russian military presence as the 'the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen.'

Trump also claimed Biden has yet to respond to the crisis in the east. 'And you know what the response was from Biden? There was no response. They didn’t have one for that. No, it’s very sad. Very sad,' he said, also referencing Germany halting approval of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between western Europe and Russia.

Quite the contrary, Biden announced the first wave of sanctions against Russia in the fallout of Moscow's announcement, targeting five Russian banks and three oligarchs, honing in on the country's sovereign debt in order to 'cut off Russia’s government from Western financing. It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either', he said.

Biden also said he was directing 'additional movements of US forces and equipment already stationed in Europe to strengthen our Baltic allies — Estonia, Lativa, and Lithuania', and promised Russia would pay a 'steeper price' if it expands its invasion.

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