Donald Trump once again defended Putin with an outrageous claim in his joint press conference with Zelenskyy Donald Trump could not help but talk up Vladimir Putin’s intentions during a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday. While the two leaders were meeting to discuss peace efforts to end the Ukraine war – which Putin started with his February 2022 invasion – the US president once again appeared to side with Russia . In a press conference after their meeting, Trump was asked what responsibility Putin might have in helping rebuild Ukraine. He replied: “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed. “It sounds a little strange, but I was explaining to the president [Zelenskyy], but president Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices.” Trump added: “A lot of good things came out of the meeting today, but they were two weeks in the works with Steve and Jared and Marco and everybody.” US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and US secretary of state Marco Rubio all travelled to Moscow last month to speak to the Kremlin. They claimed talks were “productive” but “complicated” at the time. Trump: Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed. Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine, succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices. pic.twitter.com/3f7C2fvxS3 — Acyn (@Acyn) December 28, 2025 Here’s how Zelenskyy responded to the bizarre claim – he remained silent, but his bemused facial expressions said it all. Trump: "Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed." pic.twitter.com/WtsV9wLojr — OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) December 28, 2025 Both Zelenskyy and Trump suggested they had made some progress during their discussions on what a peace deal could look like, though “thorny issues” remain – particularly over territorial concessions from Ukraine. Zelenskyy also said the current peace plan offers 15 years of US security guarantees for the beleaguered country in the event Russia attacks again – although Kyiv had initially asked for security promises for up to 50 years. The Ukrainian president later told reporters that Putin’s alleged readiness to end the war does not align with his actions, in a clear rebuttal to Trump’s earlier remarks. Just hours before Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump, Russia bombed Ukraine for 10 hours straight, causing power outages across the country and two fatalities. Related... Putin Deployed A Sneaky Trick To Try And Derail Zelenskyy's Trump Meeting Republican Congressman Dances Around Answering Whether Trump Supports Russia Or Ukraine Trump Snaps At Reporter Over ‘Dumb Question’ While Greeting Zelenskyy At Mar-A-Lago