Trump finally calls Russia the "aggressor"
US President Donald Trump has toughened his rhetoric on Moscow, for the first time calling Russia the aggressor in its war against Ukraine.
As reported by Politico, Trump made the remark while speaking to reporters on Sunday 14 September about Ukrainian and Russian casualty numbers.
"8,000 soldiers have died this week, from both countries. Some more from Russia, but when you’re the aggressor, you lose more," Trump said.
Trump has previously refused to condemn Moscow over the invasion. In February 2025, his administration sided with Russia and North Korea in blocking a UN resolution that backed Ukraine’s territorial integrity and condemned Russia’s aggression.
Washington also opposed a G7 statement that called Russia an aggressor.
Trump has also blamed Ukraine for the war, saying in April 2025 that "you don’t start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles".
However, Trump’s stance on the Kremlin has shifted over the summer, with his administration ramping up pressure on Vladimir Putin as the Russian leader obstructed Trump’s efforts to arrange direct peace talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"I stopped seven wars, and I thought this one was going to be easy for me, but this has turned out to be tough," Trump said on Sunday 14 September, referring to Russia’s invasion.
With his tougher stance failing to bring Putin to the negotiating table with Zelenskyy, the US administration is now facing increasing calls to impose harsher sanctions on Russia.
Trump on Sunday 14 September said he planned to do so, but only once Europe stops purchasing Russian oil and strengthens its own sanctions regime.
Hungary and Slovakia remain the EU’s top purchasers of Russian energy and have resisted the European Commission’s efforts to phase it out.
Earlier, Trump had once again stated that his patience with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is "running out".
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18 of September 2025
