WASHINGTON

Continuing his criticism from a heated Oval Office meeting last month, President Donald Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of taking aid funds from the US "like candy from a baby" under former President Joe Biden.

"He took money out of this country, under Biden, like candy from a baby. It was so easy," said Trump in an interview with Fox News aired on Sunday.

"I just don’t think he’s grateful. We gave him 350 billion and he is talking about the fact that they have fought and they have this bravery," Trump added.

The US president reiterated that he was the one that gave him the Javelin anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, and that the war in Ukraine would not have happened if he had been the president in 2022, when it began.

On US and European aid to Ukraine, he said: "All he (Zelenskyy) had to do is say (to Europe), you got to stay even with us (the US) ... We're not in the danger, they (Europe) are ...So they're paying all this money to Russia, and we're in there for $350 billion.”

In recent weeks a number of European leaders, including from the UK and France, have told Trump his figures for aid are incorrect, and that Europe collectively sent somewhat more money to Ukraine than the US did.

When asked if the US is treating Ukraine and Israel similarly over the conflicts they have spearheaded, Trump said: "They're very different places, okay, very, very different. You're talking about different levels of power.”

Trump and Zelenskyy’s tense relationship escalated last month when Trump accused Zelenskyy of prolonging the war in Ukraine and lacking gratitude for US aid.

During a heated Oval Office meeting, Trump criticized Zelenskyy and later suspended all military aid to Ukraine, pressuring Kyiv to negotiate with Russia.

The move sparked a backlash from European allies while Russia welcomed the decision, further straining US-Ukraine relations.