America Politics World

Trump falsely calls Ukraine’s Zelenskyy a ‘dictator,’ escalating a spat between the leaders

Trump’s post, which included a number of inaccuracies, followed the administration’s attempt to reset relations with Russia by holding high-level talks on…
Trump falsely calls Ukraine’s Zelenskyy a ‘dictator,’ escalating a spat between the leaders
Send to

Trump’s post, which included a number of inaccuracies, followed the administration’s attempt to reset relations with Russia by holding high-level talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a dictator” after earlier in the day the Ukrainian president accused him of living in a Russian “disinformation bubble,” as a spat between the two spiraled.

Trump’s post on Truth Social included a number of inaccuracies — Zelenskyy was elected president, for example — and followed the administration’s attempt to reset relations with Russia by holding high-level talks on ending the war in Ukraine, among other things.

The exchange comes at a crucial time for Ukraine, which is struggling to lock in Western support to fight Russian invaders who have occupied 20% of the country and regularly bomb its cities and infrastructure.

Trump also called Zelenskyy a “modestly successful comedian” who “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.”

“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump wrote.

Zelenskyy speaking Tuesday in Ankara, Turkey.Evrim Aydin / Anadolu via Getty Images
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday called Zelensky’s comments “disgraceful.”

“He is attacking the only reason this country exists, publicly, right now,” Vance said in an interview with The National Pulse. “And it’s disgraceful. And it’s not something that is going to move the President of the United States. In fact, it’s going to have the opposite effect.”

Several Republican senators said Wednesday that they disagreed with Trump’s comments about Zelensky, but they stopped short of criticizing the president directly.

“I don’t agree,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said when asked for her reaction to Trump’s comments.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said that “to the extent that the White House said that Ukraine started the war, I disagree. I think Vladimir Putin started the war.”

Zelenskyy said Wednesday afternoon on X that he had spoken to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who he said is “constructive and doing a lot to help bring peace closer. It’s all-important that security guarantees remain on the table—and that they work for Ukraine, for real and lasting peace.” The two appeared on the same panel at the Munich Security Conference last week.

Zelenskyy, who was a popular actor and comedian before running for president, earlier referred to U.S. support given to Ukraine so far — $67 billion in weapons and $31.5 billion. He added that American demands that Ukraine should hand over more than $500 billion in rare earth minerals was “not a serious conversation” and added that he cannot sell his country.

Zelenskyy’s pugnacious comments about not wanting “anyone making decisions behind our backs” came in response to Trump saying that Ukraine was responsible for Russia’s invasion.

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said Wednesday in an interview on Fox News that no one should criticize Trump for trying to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. “What he said yesterday and today is, why hasn’t President Zelenskyy tried to end this war for the betterment of his country? And we have to ask ourselves, is Ukraine’s position improving or not on the battlefield?” he said.

Waltz also added that there has been “bizarre pushback and escalation of rhetoric” over the Trump administration’s proposal to invest in Ukrainian infrastructure and rare minerals.

In Kyiv, meanwhile, ordinary Ukrainians reiterated their support for Zelenskyy, while keeping an anxious eye on the rapprochement between Trump and Putin.

“I don’t like Trump’s flirting with Putin,” said 49-year-old Fedir Logvynenko. “I don’t quite understand whether it’s from great intelligence or from complete incompetence.”

He added that he agreed with Zelenskyy’s position of refusing to “accept an agreement on Ukraine without Ukraine,” also reserving criticism for Ukraine’s European allies.

Recommended Article Selma Blair Offers Positive Health Update Amid 7-Year MS Battle: ‘Truly Relapse-Free’

Yuliya Antonyuk, a 42-year-old real estate agent, meanwhile, said that Ukrainians “couldn’t cope without American weapons and support.”

“I want people to stop dying every day. I want to sleep calmly,” she said, adding that it would be “impossible” to hold presidential elections in the country given the current conditions “as there is shelling all the time.”

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks in Saudi Arabia, which alarmed and distressed Ukrainians and European allies who said any decision on ending the war had to include them.

Trump said that the U.S. is “successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia” and that “Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the ‘gravy train’ going.”

Trump earlier claimed that Zelenskyy had approval ratings of just 4%, even thought an opinion poll released Wednesday by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed that 57% of Ukrainians trust him.

“As we are talking about 4%, we have seen this disinformation, we understand it’s coming from Russia,” Zelenskyy told a news conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, a Pew Research Center poll showed that 47% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance to some extent.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday.SPA / AFP – Getty Images
Zelenskyy added that any attempts to replace him during the war would fail — Trump’s questions about Ukrainian elections following Putin’s repeated assertions that Zelenskyy is not Ukraine’s legitimate leader — contending that the overwhelming majority of Ukrainians would not support concessions to Russia.

Trump also wrote that “MILLIONS have unnecessarily died” in the war.

It is not known how many have died since Russia and Ukraine do not release casualty numbers, but reliable estimates put the number of those killed at a fraction of 1 million.

Trump echoed criticism from Putin, who has ruled Russia for all but four of the past 25 years via elections widely considered illegitimate but has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of Zelenskyy’s continuing leadership.

Ukraine last held a presidential election in 2019 and was due to have one last April, but Zelenskyy has said in the past that it is not possible for Ukrainians to go to the polls in wartime and that view is also backed up by the country’s constitution.

Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort late Tuesday, Trump said he believed he had the power to end the war in Ukraine, “but today I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years.”

“You should have never started it,” he added.

The reaction in Moscow to the broader change in direction of U.S. foreign policy has been more upbeat. Speaking to Russian lawmakers Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov did not directly address Trump’s comments but suggested the Kremlin was pleased with the talks.

The U.S. president is “the first, and so far, apparently, the only Western leader who has publicly and loudly said that one of the root causes of the Ukrainian situation was the brazen path of the previous administration to draw Ukraine into NATO,” Lavrov said. “No Western leader has ever said this.”

“This is already a signal that he understands our position,” Lavrov added, in a speech that covered the broader second Trump administration rather than the president’s specific remarks Tuesday.

Have you read them?

People disturbed after realising what yellow stuff in your eyes when you wake up actually is

Wiz Khalifa Seems to Reveal He Thinks Earth Is Flat ‘Because I’ve Traveled So Much’: ‘Not Possible to Go Up and Down’

A third-grade teacher was having a tough time with a boy in her class

I Chew Cloves And Say Goodbye to 10 Years of Diabetes.. I’ll Give You The Recipe

News Feed

27.04.2025 17:46 Celebrities

Selma Blair Offers Positive Health Update Amid 7-Year MS Battle: ‘Truly Relapse-Free’

27.04.2025 17:43 Celebrities

Demi Moore Says Her Foundation with Bruce Willis ‘Has Never Wavered’ Even After Their Divorce

27.04.2025 17:31 Stories

Woman opens up about love, laughs & life with her micro penis man

27.04.2025 17:28 Spotlight

Test: Only a person with a high IQ can find the 15 differences

27.04.2025 17:25 Health

7 Kinds of Pain That Shouldn’t Be Ignored

27.04.2025 17:16 Health

People disturbed after realising what yellow stuff in your eyes when you wake up actually is

27.04.2025 17:13 Celebrities

Wiz Khalifa Seems to Reveal He Thinks Earth Is Flat ‘Because I’ve Traveled So Much’: ‘Not Possible to Go Up and Down’

27.04.2025 17:10 Joke

A third-grade teacher was having a tough time with a boy in her class

27.04.2025 17:05 Tips & Tricks

I Chew Cloves And Say Goodbye to 10 Years of Diabetes.. I’ll Give You The Recipe

26.04.2025 14:44 Stories

Airlines asked to make changes after passenger’s photo goes viral.

26.04.2025 14:41 Celebrities

Jesse Plemons Once Played Late Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Son Before Taking on His Hunger Games Character for Upcoming Prequel

26.04.2025 14:38 Celebrities

Brooke Shields Breaks Down in Tears After Husband Chris Henchy Surprises Daughter for Her Birthday

26.04.2025 14:35 Spotlight

Only Geniuses Can Solve This Math Puzzle in 10 Seconds

26.04.2025 14:32 World

Stephen Hawking’s Doomsday Warning is Coming Faster Than We Thought

26.04.2025 14:27 World

The Last Words And Heartfelt Gesture Pope Francis Made In His Final Moments

26.04.2025 14:24 Items

Do You Remember This Classic Toy? If You Do, You’ve Lived Through A Time Of Simple Yet Magical Fun! Discover The Fascinating History Behind Its Creation

26.04.2025 14:19 Spotlight

Pirate Game – Spot the Differences

26.04.2025 14:14 Tips & Tricks

Just one spoon and you’ll run to the bathroom

26.04.2025 14:10 Stories

Man who saw ‘proof’ that ‘death is not the end’ explains the seven levels of afterlife

26.04.2025 14:03 Tips & Tricks

Absolutely do not bathe at these 4 times

26.04.2025 13:55 Spotlight

Only highly intelligent people can find the mistake in the man and dog picture in 6 seconds!

26.04.2025 13:49 World

Prince William Joins World Leaders at Pope Francis’ Funeral

26.04.2025 13:45 Stories

NFL Draft Pick Derrick Harmon’s Mom Dies Shortly After His Selection by the Steelers

26.04.2025 13:39 World

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump Attend Pope Francis’ Funeral, with Melania in Black Veil

25.04.2025 23:24 Celebrities

Justin Bieber Posts Emotional Plea, Says Paparazzi Attention ‘Has to Stop’

25.04.2025 23:20 Celebrities

She Received Meghan Markle’s As Ever Box — and Sent Something Back: ‘One Lifestyle Homemaker to Another’

25.04.2025 23:17 News

Gilbert Arenas’ Son Alijah Out of Coma but Remains Intubated After Cybertruck Car Crash

25.04.2025 23:13 Celebrities

Hailey Bieber Sends On-Stage Message to Justin Bieber Amid Ongoing Health Speculation and Paparazzi Battle

25.04.2025 23:00 Stories

My husband abandoned me and our child in his crumbling, outdated shack. Little did he know, beneath that dilapidated house lay a secret room filled with gold — a treasure that had been hidden for years.

25.04.2025 22:56 Celebrities

Fox News’ Fox News’ Peter Doocy and wife Hillary welcome second baby after 30-hour labor on a very special day and wife Hillary welcome second baby after 30-hour labor on a very special day

Exit mobile version