Trump on Russia, Ukraine attacks: ‘They’re both a little off’

President Trump on Tuesday appeared to defend Russia’s continued strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure a day after he announced an “energy ceasefire” that he claimed Moscow had agreed to.

“Ukraine hit many sites the day before,” Trump told reporters when asked about Russia’s continued missile and drone attacks on Monday. “They’re both a little bit off.”

Speaking to journalists as he departed the White House on Tuesday, Trump insisted Ukraine and Russia wanted to end Moscow’s now five-year war against Kyiv, and that the U.S. is working with both sides to get to a resolution.

When asked if Russia had broken the ceasefire, Trump replied: “I’ll let you know about that later.”

“They’re hitting each other, but it’ll all come to an end. They both want it to come to an end, they just don’t know how to get there,” he added.

Trump stunned Ukraine, European allies and even Republican senators on Friday when he announced a controversial deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow Moscow to export diesel to the United States — an effort to offset high fuel and diesel costs that have been driven up by the war in Iran.

But the agreement, which lifts sanctions on Russian diesel exports, is set to generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the Russian economy, putting it in a better position to continue its war against Ukraine. Under the plan, the U.S. would buy an estimated 2.5 million tons of fuel from the Kremlin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Trump “weak” for making the deal .

Angered by the response, Trump retaliated by having U.S. officials over the weekend call European capitals and Kyiv, threatening to cut off intelligence sharing and weapons delivery through Europe if Ukraine refuses to stop striking Russian oil refineries.

Trump was asked Tuesday whether the U.S. had cut off intelligence sharing to Ukraine and replied: “No we haven’t. We help them. But we’re really helping them get to a final answer, we want the war ended.”

He also appeared to distance himself from the diesel agreement with Russia, telling reporters it’s “a deal for the world,” and not with the U.S.