US President Donald Trump criticized Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him a “dictator” and questioning his legitimacy amid Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia. Trump suggested Zelensky needs to act quickly to save his country, highlighting the expiration of Zelensky’s five-year term last year and Ukraine’s wartime election laws. Trump has shifted his stance from supporting Ukraine to opening talks with Moscow, echoing Kremlin narratives about the war. Meanwhile, Zelensky accused Trump of spreading Russian disinformation. Despite declining popularity, polls indicate that over 50% of Ukrainians still trust Zelensky since the invasion began.
Miami:
US President Donald Trump referred to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator” on Wednesday, deepening a personal divide with significant consequences for endeavors to resolve the conflict that arose from Russia’s invasion three years ago.
The United States has supplied funding and military aid to Ukraine, but since taking office, Trump has unexpectedly shifted his policy and initiated discussions with Moscow.
“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move quickly or he is going to lose his Country,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform about the Ukrainian leader, whose five-year term lapsed last year.
Ukrainian law does not mandate elections during wartime.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Trump criticized Zelensky, reiterated numerous Kremlin narratives regarding the conflict, and called for a cessation of hostilities.
Zelensky, in response, accused Trump of yielding to Russian “disinformation,” including Trump’s assertion that Kyiv “started” the war and his repetition of Kremlin doubts regarding Zelensky’s legitimacy.
“He refuses to hold Elections, is performing poorly in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was manipulating (Joe) Biden ‘like a fiddle,'” Trump remarked in his Truth post about Zelensky.
“Meanwhile, we are effectively negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something everyone agrees can only be accomplished by ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration,” Trump stated in his post.
Zelensky was elected in 2019 for a five-year term but has remained in power under martial law enacted after the Russian invasion.
Though his popularity has declined, the proportion of Ukrainians who place their trust in him has not fallen below 50 percent since the beginning of the conflict, according to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).
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