Ex-PM Tony Abbott says Donald Trump ‘living in a fantasy land’ over brawl with Ukraine

Tony Abbott has blasted Donald Trump for his comments on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukraine war.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has accused Donald Trump of “living in a fantasy land” after the US President made controversial comments implying Ukraine was responsible for the war with Russia and had “talked the US into spending $350bn” on a “war that couldn’t be won”.

Speaking from London, Mr Abbott said despite Mr Trump’s attempts to initiate peace talks involving Russia and the US, in the absence of Ukraine, peace could not be a “surrender to vicious, naked aggression”.

“Let’s be very clear, Putin started this war. Russia started this war, and anyone who thinks otherwise is living in fantasy land,” he told Times Radio.

“Now, obviously we want peace, but it can’t just be a surrender to vicious, naked aggression.

“The basis for peace has got to be that Ukraine can live in independence and security going forward.”

Former prime minister Tony Abbott said Russia was responsible for its war against Ukraine, and opinions contrary to this were akin to ‘living in a fantasy land’. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman

He said proposals to trade “territory for security” would also need to come with “meaningful” guarantees of Ukraine’s ongoing security, like membership to NATO or a “boots on the ground” presence from allied countries.

“Otherwise, effectively, this isn’t a ceasefire. It’s a sellout … and it’s a surrender to a vicious dictator,” Mr Abbott said.

While he welcomed Mr Trump’s commonsense domestic policies, Mr Abbott said the US could not stand to “appease dictators” like Mr Putin.

“I think we are in a bit of a dangerous place, and I hope that he will think again, and I think that wise heads in Washington will be getting together to think this through,” he said.

Mr Abbott, who served as Australian prime minister from 2013 to 2015, also applauded UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for backing Mr Zelensky following Mr Trump’s comments and said Western countries would be looking to Mr Starmer to “inject some strength and decency into this situation”.

Asked if Mr Starmer should be more “robust” against Russia, Mr Abbott declined to directly answer but said he “simply hoped” the Prime Minister “stands up in the best traditions of British global leadership”, listing Britain’s fight against the Nazis and Hitler in WWII.

Peter Dutton also called out Mr Trump’s comments in rare criticism of the US President.

The Opposition Leader said he was proud of Australia’s support of Ukraine, adding that Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was “unprovoked” and an “act of aggression”.

Although Mr Dutton said the US was an “incredibly important ally of ours,” he said Australia should “stand strong and proud with the people of Ukraine”.

“The thought that President Zelensky or the Ukrainian people started this battle, or somehow they were responsible for the war, is just wrong,” he told 2GB on Thursday.

“It’s a democracy, and this is a fight for civilisation. Vladimir Putin is a murderous dictator, and we shouldn’t be giving him an inch.”

Peter Dutton urged Donald Trump to be ‘very careful’ over his future comments over Russia’s ‘unprovoked’ invasion of Ukraine. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman

Mr Dutton also urged caution in Mr Trump’s future commentary on the war after the US leader initiated peace talks with high-level Russian and US officials in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

“I think President Trump has got it wrong in relation to some of the public commentary that I’ve seen him make in relation to President Zelensky and the situation in Ukraine,” he said.

“I think very careful thought needs to be given about the next steps, because if we make Europe less safe, or we provide some sort of support to Putin deliberately or inadvertently, that there’s a terrible, terrible outcome.”

Overnight on Wednesday, Mr Trump accused Mr Zelensky of having “talked the United States of America into spending $350bn, to go into a war that couldn’t be won,” following a deepening rift between the two countries.

In an inflamed statement shared on Truth Social, Mr Trump accused the leader of being a “modestly successful comedian” and said his actions have “shattered” his country and allowed millions to have “unnecessarily died”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been critical of Mr Trump’s attempted peace talks over Russia’s invasion that did not include Ukraine. Picture: NewsWire/ POOL/ AFP /Tetiana Dzhafarova

Mr Trump also accused Mr Zelensky, who was democratically elected in 2019, of being a “dictator without elections”.

Although the Ukrainian leader’s five-year term was slated to end in 2024, the country has been under martial law since the invasion, preventing future elections.

Earlier this week, Mr Zelensky criticised the attempted peace talks between the US and Russia which did not include Ukraine, and accused Mr Trump of living in a “disinformation space”.

While Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles avoided commenting on Mr Trump’s remarks, he said “the war in Ukraine must be resolved on Ukraine’s terms”.

“The war in Ukraine has seen an extraordinary loss of life. It cannot be peace on any terms, and to be clear, don’t think America is talking about peace on any terms,” he said.

“We have, from the outset, made clear and we continue to make clear that the war in Ukraine must be resolved on Ukraine’s terms, because the aggressor here is Russia, and what we see at stake is the integrity of the global rules-based order.

“That’s why we have provided about $1.5bn worth of support to Ukraine. Our position has not changed.”

Mr Trump has rubbished the US’s relations with Ukraine. Picture: NewsWire/ Jim Watson/ POOL/ AFP

Australian leaders have said Australia will continuing support Ukraine following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the Eastern European country in 2022. Picture: NewsWire/ POOL/ AFP/ Mikhail Metzel

Anthony Albanese reiterated Mr Marles’ comments, telling reporters: “I speak for Australia’s interests and Australia stands with Ukraine in their struggle, which is a struggle not just for their own national sovereignty but it is a struggle to stand up for the international rule of law.”

Canberra has given Kyiv north of $1.5bn worth of aid to fight back against Russia’s invading forces, including munitions and tanks.

The conflict has devastated Ukraine’s east and subjected cities all over the country to daily missile and drone attacks.

Of the 6.8 million Ukrainians that have sought refuge outside of their homeland, some 11,400 have found safe haven in Australia.