WASHINGTON, D.C. — The new presidential administration experienced a rare public relations gaffe, as an embarrassed President Donald Trump realized that he's had Russia and Ukraine confused this entire time.

The mistake was eventually discovered by a White House aide, who began to ask questions after the president had made public assertions that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war. Upon further investigation, the aide privately notified Trump that he had the two countries mixed up.

"They're the other way around, from what I understand," Trump told reporters at an impromptu press conference in the Oval Office. "The country that started the war by invading the other was apparently Russia. It's easy to get the two confused, honestly. They're right next to each other. And cold winters. So very cold. I thought that little Zelenskyy guy was from Russia this whole time. He sounds Russian."

An administration insider said Trump's realization of the mix-up could potentially change the entire outlook for peace talks. "It's kind of a major difference," the source said. "He was taking such a hardline stance against Ukraine because he thought they started the war when Russia did the invading. We had to get out a big map and show him that Russia was actually the big one and Ukraine was the little one. It's ok, he's got it figured out now."

At publishing time, Trump had proposed a newly revised peace plan in which the United States would simply take over both Ukraine and Russia as new territories.

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