WASHINGTON: White House candidate Donald Trump on Thursday blamed US ally Ukraine for Russia`s invasion, arguing that President Volodymyr Zelensky had failed in his duty to halt hostilities before they started.

The comments made in an interview with a podcast supportive of him sparked an immediate backlash as critics accused the 78-year-old Republican former president of being a `traitor` and an `idiot.

`Zelensky is one of the greatest salesmen Pye ever seen. Every time he comes in, we give him $100 billion. Who else got that kind of money in history? There`s never been (anyone),` Trump told the twomillion-subscriber PBD Podcast.

`And that doesn`t mean I don`t want to help him, because I feel very badly for those people. He should never have let that war start.` Trump immediately pivoted to criticising President Joe Biden, accusing him of having `instigated` the Ukraine war.-AFP