MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. US presidential candidate Donald Trump has publicly stated that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is responsible for the Ukraine conflict breaking out, and this will be something to keep an eye on going forward, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said.

"Trump is the first former US president and presidential candidate to acknowledge that the direct responsibility for the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine - or rather, the civil war - lies with the filthy, drug-addicted scum propped up by the West, which has lost all legitimacy," the politician wrote on his Telegram channel. Medvedev pointed out that this recognition will not change the US position, even if Trump returns to the Oval Office. "But the fact that he made this statement is extremely important for the future," the politician emphasized.

Earlier, in an interview with the PBD podcast, Trump said that Zelensky was responsible for the conflict breaking out and should have prevented it. He called the Ukrainian president one of the "greatest salesmen" he had ever seen, referencing Zelensky’s ability to get 100 billion dollars every time he visited the United States. At the same time, Trump pointed out that he felt sorry for the Ukrainian people and wanted to help them, lamenting the situation, saying "Zelensky should never have let that war start." Trump also said that the conflict "is a loser" and added that Ukraine is no longer the country it used to be.