Former UK defence minister Grant Shapps has expressed his disgust at Donald Trump’s positive stance towards Russia and Vladimir Putin. Shapps was particularly dismayed by Trump’s characterization of a Russian missile strike in Ukraine, which claimed numerous lives, as a “mistake” and likened the rhetoric to that used by terrorists like the IRA after killing civilians in Northern Ireland.
Shapps, who has held various roles in Conservative cabinets and was recently made a knight, criticized Trump’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, stating that all Putin has to do is halt his invasion of a democratic neighboring country. He argued that Trump’s inability to distinguish between Putin’s aggression and the democratic nation being invaded lacks moral clarity and is demoralizing for the democratic world.
Shapps also voiced his belief that Trump’s favorable view of Putin might be influenced by compromising material or an attraction to autocratic regimes. He pointed to Trump’s impeachment in relation to withholding military aid to Ukraine as evidence of this.
A podcast featuring Shapps highlighted the danger of allowing autocratic behavior to go unchecked, suggesting that if one dictator’s actions are unchallenged, others may follow suit with similar territorial ambitions.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/17/grant-shapp-trump-russia
