Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential Republican presidential candidate, called Putin a “war criminal” who is “basically a gas station with a bunch of nuclear weapons.” He said this in an interview with journalist Piers Morgan, his words are quoted by the New York Post.
DeSantis made the comments in a TV interview that aired on Fox Nation. The politician criticized Crimea for becoming part of Russia, while adding that “there are many ethnic Russians in the region”.
“If I could snap my fingers, I would return the territory to Ukraine 100%. But the reality is that US intervention, in terms of weapons buildup and of course ground forces, would be a mistake,” DeSantis said.
He did not rule out that Russian President Vladimir Putin is hostile to the United States.
“I think he has big ambitions. (…) But he doesn’t have the opportunity to realize his ambitions. He (Putin) is basically a gas station with a bunch of nuclear weapons,” the official said. Governor of Florida.
Earlier, DeSantis criticized the support of Ukraine by US President Joe Biden’s administration. According to him, the fighting in Ukraine is not a vital American national interest. “The territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” he said.
Vladimir Putin said earlier that China’s peace plan could form the basis for the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, but it is necessary for the West and Kiev to be ready for it.
Likely US presidential candidate DeSantis called Putin a “gas station with a bunch of nukes”
