Putin says the Ukraine war “would not have happened” if Trump had been president in 2022

At their highly scrutinized summit in Anchorage, Alaska, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that the Ukraine war "would not have happened" if Donald Trump had been the US president in 2022, a claim he said directly echoes Trump’s belief.

Putin explained that he had previously warned the Biden administration about the impending conflict but was not heard.

In a joint press appearance after the nearly three-hour summit, Putin reaffirmed Trump's stance, adding, “President Trump and I had established a very good, businesslike and trusting contact.

And I have every reason to believe that… the end of the conflict in Ukraine” could be accelerated through closer ties. He also suggested the next summit could be held in Moscow.

Trump, who has repeatedly claimed he could have prevented the war had he remained in office, neither rejected nor fully endorsed Putin’s remarks in public, but continued to frame the war as a consequence of Biden’s perceived failures.

He praised the “friendly tone” of the talks and called them “very productive,” though he confirmed there was no formal ceasefire agreement.

Despite optimistic language from both leaders, observers, including European officials, expressed concern that no tangible progress was made toward ending the war.

The summit ended without a ceasefire or agreement, with Putin reinforcing longstanding demands around Ukraine’s NATO ambitions and US assurances regarding demilitarization.

Ukraine continued to face missile and drone attacks during the discussions—an immediate sign that diplomatic symbolism had yet to translate into a reduction in conflict.

Putin's comment appears aimed at bolstering Trump while undermining Biden’s leadership intensifying the political optics of their relationship ahead of potential future talks.