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President Donald Trump of the United States reversed course on Friday and said Russia invaded Ukraine, stating that Kyiv would soon sign a minerals agreement with the United States as part of efforts to end the Ukraine war.

Recall that Trump had said on Tuesday that Ukraine should have never started the war three years ago, prompting a wave of criticism both domestically and internationally.

In an interview with Fox News Radio on Friday, the US president acknowledged that Russia had invaded Ukraine on the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Russia attacked, but they shouldn’t have let him attack,” Trump said.

He added that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and then-US President Joe Biden should have taken steps to avert the invasion.

Later, Trump predicted a minerals agreement would be reached soon.

“We’re signing an agreement, hopefully in the next fairly short period of time,” Trump said.

Zelenskiy said separately on Friday that Ukrainian and US teams were working on a draft agreement.

Trump had denounced Zelenskiy as a dictator on Wednesday, warning that he had to move quickly to secure peace with Russia, which invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago, or risk losing his country.

The change in tone from the United States, Ukraine’s most important backer, had alarmed European officials and stoked fears that Kyiv could be forced into a peace deal that favors Putin.