Now DeSantis says his 'territorial dispute' comments on Ukraine were 'mischaracterized'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sought to clean up comments where he called Russia's brutal war on Ukraine a 'territorial dispute' after drawing rebukes against 'isolationism' but praise from Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

'Well, I think it's been mischaracterized. Obviously, Russia invaded — that was wrong. They invaded Crimea and took that in 2014 — That was wrong,' DeSantis told Piers Morgan in an interview more than a week after his initial comments.

He also rolled out tough talk against Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a 'war criminal' and saying he should be 'held accountable,' while dissing Russia as 'basically a gas station with a bunch of nuclear weapons' during a week when Putin huddled with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow.  

He then stated some of the territorial facts on the ground, as Russian and mercenary forces continue their relentless siege of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. 

'What I'm referring to is where the fighting is going on now which is that eastern border region Donbas, and then Crimea, and you have a situation where Russia has had that. I don't think legitimately but they had,' he said. Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 prompting a raft of sanctions from the U.S. and allies.

The comments came in the same interview where he called out 'drama' in the Trump White House and made 'porn star' comments that infuriated Trump, who on Wednesday promoted a DailyMail.com story where his former strategist Steve Bannon blasted DeSantis for taking a 'weasel approach.' 

'Mischaracterized': Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Russia did not have a right to territory it seized from Ukraine and that he 'should have made that more clear.' He sought to clean up comments provided in writing to influential host Tucker Carlson calling the war a 'territorial dispute'

Then he repeated one of Moscow's stated war aims – the protection of ethnic Russians living inside Ukraine.

'There's a lot of ethnic Russians there. So, that's some difficult fighting and that's what I was referring to and so it wasn't that I thought Russia had a right to that, and so if I should have made that more clear, I could have done it, but I think the larger point is, okay, Russia is not showing the ability to take over Ukraine, to topple the government or certainly to threaten NATO,' he said.

'That's a good thing. I just don't think that's a sufficient interest for us to escalate more involvement. I would not want to see American troops involved there. But the idea that I think somehow Russia was justified – that's nonsense,' he added.

He also spoke in support of Ukraine's territorial integrity – while calling sending 'more weapons' a mistake, on a week when the Pentagon announced an additional $350 million in military aide for Ukraine, and said it would take steps to expedite shipment of M1A1 tanks this fall.

A damaged car near a residential building after it was hit in a missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, 22 March 2023. DeSantis said Russia's seizure of territory was not legitimate

Ukraine is seeking to bolster air defenses and offensive capability with U.S. weapons amid Russia's relentless attacks

DeSantis called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal

Tucker Carlson asked several presumed White House contenders, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, what they thought about U.S. aid to Ukraine 

'I think they have the right to that territory. If I could snap my fingers, I'd give it back to Ukraine 100%. But the reality is what is America's involvement in terms of escalating with more weapons, and certainly ground troops I think would be a mistake. So, that was the point I was trying to make but Russia was wrong to invade. They were wrong to take Crimea,' said DeSAntis.

'Russia did not have the right to go into Crimea or to go in February of 2022 and that should be clear,' he stated. 

Last week Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who chairs the Armed Services Committee, appeared to rebuke DeSantis' comments after two Russian fighters intercepted a U.S. drone that was brought down in the Black Sea.

'This brazen act by Russian pilots against an American aircraft flying in international airspace makes clear that Vladimir Putin is an adversary,' Wicker said. 'This incident should serve as a wake-up call to isolationists in the United States that it is in our national interest to treat Putin as the threat he truly is.'

He continued: 'Putin wants nothing more than for incidents like these to push the United States away from our support of Ukraine and prevent us from rolling back his destructive policies. We must choose to project strength against our adversary, not appease this dictator with words or so-called ‘de-escalation.’

Former Vice President Mike Pence poked at the Florida governor, a potential DeSantis presidential rival, said there was no room for 'Putin apologists' in the GOP. 'We support those who fight our enemies on their shores, so we will not have to fight them ourselves.' 

The Biden administration and Congress has set aside a staggering $113 billion in American taxpayer funds for Ukraine in a conflict that has no end in sight

DeSantis told Carlson, who questioned a series of top GOP presidential candidates, that Ukraine's war against Russia is not a 'vital national security interest' for the U.S., in comments where he called the war a 'territorial dispute.'

The comments put him close to rival Donald Trump, who has long called for stronger relations with Russia, and who in his own response to Carlson said Putin never would have invaded if he were in office.

He provided a written statement to Carlson' for the top-rated host's prime time show. Carlson read the positions aloud and praised DeSantis at the time. 

'Until tonight, no one could really say with precision, where [DeSantis] stood on the war in Ukraine, which is arguably the most important topic in the world. And now we know DeSantis is adamantly opposed to the position that most Republicans in Washington have taken on Ukraine. DeSantis is not a neocon. Who knew?' Carlson said on his show last week.