German Minister slams Trump for treating Putin 'like a buddy'

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has criticized US President Donald Trump for treating Russian President Vladmir Putin as a friend, as the war in Ukraine hit the four-year mark on Tuesday, reported dpa.

Trump welcomed the Russian president "like a buddy" when the two met in Alaska last year, while at the same time completely withdrawing military support for Ukraine, Pistorius told Germany's Deutschlandfunk broadcaster.

The minister also criticized Trump for taking Ukrainian NATO membership off the table very early on - "without need."

"That would have been a bargaining chip that could have been used to negotiate other things," he said.

Pistorius also hit out at Russia over its continued airstrikes on Ukraine, accusing Moscow of "terrorizing the civilian population - at minus 20 degrees [Celsius]."

"And not a single square metre of land is being gained; instead, the aim is to break the morale of the Ukrainian people and destroy the country."

The minister praised the courage and strength of the Ukrainian people after four years of war, while admitting that an end might be a long way off.

Pistorius stressed it was important to maintain support for Ukraine in negotiations, as the economic situation in Russia was "visibly deteriorating."

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to the hundreds of thousands of people killed in the war at a service in Berlin.