WASHINGTON, June 28. /TASS/. The debate between US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump indicated on Thursday that they are misinformed about the situation in Ukraine, said Nicolai Petro, professor of political science at the University of Rhode Island.

"This debate showed that misinformation about this war reaches the highest levels of the US government. Biden is convinced that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin wants to reconstitute the USSR and then intends to attack Europe. These differ sharply from Putin’s stated goals, which are: a guarantee that Ukraine will remain neutral and not join NATO, a guarantee that NATO won’t turn Ukraine into an armed anti-Russian bridgehead on its border, and assurances that the civil rights of Russophile Ukrainians will be protected," the professor, who specializes in Russia and Ukraine, told TASS.

"Trump is just as misinformed when he suggests that Russia would never have invaded because the US could have impoverished it through international sanctions," he went on to say.

Both politicians appear to be incompetent about some important issues, according to the professor.

"Neither one of these two candidates seems to understand how the global economy works, how dependent the US is on free trade, and how current US policy is undermining America’s influence around the world," he said. "Simply put, they do not understand the constraints on US power, and this should disqualify either of them for public office."

On Friday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Trump, regardless of his status in the future, will understand that Putin's proposals on Ukraine have no alternative. Speaking about how US politicians perceived the proposals, Ryabkov noted that, "Trump is not the entire US elite." The former US president said during the televised debate with Biden that he did not view Putin's conditions for peace in Ukraine as acceptable.