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Editor's Note: This story is being updated.
According to U.S. President Donald Trump, Russia "has been fine on Ukraine" and "hasn't been doing much" to the country it has been attempting to violently conquer for over a decade.
"Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much," Trump told reporters on Oct. 19.
The president's remarks came the same day that a Russian daytime drone strike in a public park killed six people, including two children. The night before, Russia attacked Kyiv with over a dozen ballistic missiles and targeted nearly 30 critical energy facilities across the country.
Trump said he was open to a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, but that such a meeting wouldn't be for Ukraine's sake — since Russia, apparently, "has been fine on Ukraine." He said the main purpose of the meeting would be to discuss nuclar disarmament.
The president was questioned about the three-way summit after the Wall Street Journal reported that Putin wants to use such a meeting — without President Volodymyr Zelensky — to secure a peace deal favorable to Moscow.
Trump defended his recent deals with Putin and sanctions waivers for Russia, saying the U.S. was negotiating with the Kremlin regarding the release of a high-profile hostage. He also praised Russia for being "very well-behaved on Iran."
"We also have a very good situation with respect to Iran. (Putin's) laying off Iran," Trump said.
"It's nice because we're hitting Iran very hard, as you know, economically as well as militarily, and Russia's done nothing there that we can see, and I think that's a very positive."