Former US President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics  "genius" and "very savvy" in a podcast interview Tuesday.

"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, this is genius. Putin declares a big portion of Ukraine as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful," Trump said.

According to the former president, the United States itself also needs to act on its southern borders.