Donald Trump praises Putin’s ‘genius’ plan to invade Ukraine but says it ‘would never have happened’ under his watch

DONALD Trump has praised Vladimir Putin’s plan to invade Ukraine as “genius” – just hours after he said it would never have happened under his watch.  The former US president made the remarks while speaking on the conservative podcast show The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show today. ReutersDonald Trump and Vladimir Putin pictured shaking hands while Trump was still president[/caption] Trump, 75, said: “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 added: “I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s going to go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. “Here’s a guy who’s very savvy… I know him very well. Very, very well.” But just hours earlier, the 45th President insisted Russian troops would never have advanced if he was still in office. He wrote in a statement: “If properly handled, there was absolutely no reason that the situation currently happening in Ukraine should have happened at all. Most read in News TEEN KNIFED Boy, 14, rushed to hospital after stabbing on high street, as 2 suspects held ON THE MARCH Russia fuels all-out war fear & denies Ukraine's right to exist as tanks go in RIVER DEATH Boy, 14, 'sang "I love to punch kids... it's orgasmic" after Logan, 5, murder' GRIM SEARCH Body found in hunt for missing woman, 28, who disappeared last year WARNING SHOT Putin threatened with war if SINGLE Russian soldier sets foot on Nato soil SUBMERGED 'Major incident' declared & urgent evacuations underway amid severe flood warning “I know Vladimir Putin very well, and he would have never done during the Trump Administration what he is doing now, no way!” US President Joe Biden tonight announced his own sanctions against Russia. In a statement from the White House, Mr Biden said the measures were only the “first tranche” and he would “escalate sanctions if Russia escalates”. Laying out the new measures, he said: “We’re implementing full blocking sanctions on two large Russian financial institutions, VEB and their military bank. “We’re implementing comprehensive sanctions on Russian sovereign debt. Read our Russia – Ukraine live blog for the very latest updates “That means we’ve 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 added: “Starting tomorrow and continuing in the days ahead we will also impose sanctions on Russia’s elites and their family members. They share in the corrupt gains of the Kremlin policies and should share in the pain as well.” Trump has referred to these as “weak sanctions.” Russia has sent 10,000 troops into pro-Russia breakaway enclaves, with the Kremlin saying further territory held by Ukrainian forces should belong to the two self-declared republics. In a further chilling development today, Russia’s parliament voted to allow Vladimir Putin to use armed forces abroad. And Vladimir Putin said he is in favour of “demilitarisation” in Ukraine. The much feared Russian advance began in the early hours, soon after Putin announced he recognised Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states. Donald J TrumpDonald Trump issued the above statement on Tuesday[/caption] APPresident Joe Biden set out US sanctions against Russia tonight[/caption] Putin gave a rambling address to Russians last night