President Donald Trump on Wednesday labeled Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections," responding angrily after the Ukrainian president accused him of falling for Russian disinformation while pursuing an end to the Kremlin's war on terms Kyiv views as too favorable to Moscow.
"Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and "TRUMP,” will never be able to settle,” Trump said of Zelenskyy, who was popular television star in Ukraine before running for office.
Trump added in his social media post that Zelenskyy is "A Dictator without Elections”!!
In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said no one could force his country to give in. "We will defend our right to exist," Sybiha said on X.
Zelenskyy's five-year term was supposed to end in 2024 but presidential and parliamentary elections cannot be held under martial law, which Ukraine imposed in February 2022 in response to Russia's invasion.
Zelenskyy, who met Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv on Wednesday, said he would like Trump's team to have "more truth" about Ukraine, a day after Trump said Ukraine "should never have started" the conflict with Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said Trump's assertion that his approval rating was just 4% was Russian disinformation and that any attempt to replace him would fail.
"We have evidence that these figures are being discussed between America and Russia. That is, President Trump... unfortunately lives in this disinformation space," Zelenskyy told Ukrainian TV.
The latest poll from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, from early February, says 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskyy.
Less than a month into his presidency, Trump has upended U.S. policy on Ukraine and Russia, ending Washington's bid to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine with a Trump-Putin phone call and talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials.
Because of Russia's invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has delayed elections that were scheduled for April 2024.
Zelenskyy accused Trump earlier Wednesday of living in a Russian-made "disinformation space."
There was no Kyiv presence as the U.S. and Russia launched talks on ending the Ukraine war. Neither representatives from Ukraine nor European countries were invited to the discussions in Saudi Arabia. European leaders met in Paris on Monday evening to discuss how to respond to being sidelined – with no concrete outcome.
