German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has lashed out at Donald Trump, accusing him of sending the wrong signals to Vladimir Putin and weakening Ukraine's position in the war, reports "Politico".
On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Social Democrat - the most popular politician in Germany in recent polls - said that Trump had increased trust in the Kremlin leader by communicating too warmly.
"Unfortunately, the US president influenced the course of the war and Putin's self-esteem when he rolled out the red carpet and greeted him as a friend in Alaska, while completely stopping military aid to Ukraine," Pistorius noted.
Trump met with Putin in Alaska in August 2025 without European involvement. This has heightened concerns on the Old Continent that Washington is trying to end the war without any involvement from Ukraine or Europe. Trump has repeatedly changed his tone on the conflict and has not issued a statement in support of Ukraine on the fourth anniversary of the war.
Pistorius also accused the White House of taking Ukraine's NATO membership off the agenda too early in the negotiations.
"The American president, unfortunately and unnecessarily, took NATO membership off the agenda too early. This would be one of the issues that one could use to negotiate other things," he said.
It is not the first time Pistorius has criticized Trump's handling of the war in Ukraine. Last year, he said the president had"misjudged" his influence over Putin in the ceasefire talks.
His latest remarks come days before German Chancellor Friedrich Merz heads to Washington, where he plans to present a "common European position" on trade after Trump took steps to raise global tariffs to 15%.