Trump Calls Zelenskiy ‘Dictator’ As US-Ukraine Alliance Unravels

President Donald Trump issued his most direct threat yet to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, saying the Ukrainian president had “better move fast” to reach a deal with Russia “or he is not going to have a Country left.”

Trump's social media post denouncing Zelenskiy as “a modestly successful comedian” and “a dictator” marks an all-but-final rejection of Ukraine as a full partner in negotiations that Trump has initiated with Russia to end the war that began with President Vladimir Putin's  full-scale invasion of his neighbour three years ago.

The US president has abandoned years of American support for Ukraine, as he prepares to meet with Putin as soon as this month to negotiate a deal to end the war, cutting out Kyiv and its European allies.

Zelenskiy accused Trump of falling victim to Russian “disinformation” and has vowed not to be bound by any peace deal made without Ukraine. That had been the US position under former President Joe Biden.  

But the open breach with the leader of what had been Zelenskiy's most important ally raises deep questions about Ukraine's ability to fight on.

Senior officials from the US and Russia met for a first round of talks on ending the war in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Ukraine wasn't invited, compounding fears that a deal to end the war will be reached without Kyiv's involvement. Putin said Wednesday that he regarded the outcome of the meeting in Riyadh positively.

“We haven't seen each other for a long time,” Putin told reporters. He reiterated that he was ready to meet with “Donald,” but that further preparation was needed before a summit could take place.

Trump said Tuesday evening that he and Putin would probably meet before the end of the month.

In the same appearance, Trump blamed Ukraine for Russia's invasion and asserted that Zelenskiy's public support was at 4% — a level belied by all available polling — and mentioned that wartime Ukraine hasn't held an election, a demand that's been made by the Kremlin. 

In response, Zelenskiy lashed out,  accusing the US president of living in a Russian “disinformation space.” 

Zelenskiy is supported by 57% of Ukrainians, up from 52% from a similar survey conducted in December, according to a Feb. 4-9 poll of 1,000 people by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. 

In Washington, Trump's latest comments drew muted criticism from some Republican lawmakers who in the past have supported Ukraine.

“Russia is the aggressor, there's no question about that,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters. “He can speak for himself, but in my view there is no question who started the war.”

European allies struggled to keep up with the shift in the US position. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said “the Russian narrative is really gaining ground.” 

“The only ones who are saying it was Ukraine who is to blame are the Russians,” she told Bloomberg in an interview in Cape Town, South Africa. 

Military Chief

As talks proceed, hostilities continue. Russia hit Ukraine's southern port city of Odesa with a massive drone strike overnight, just hours after US and Russian officials ended their meeting. US special envoy Keith Kellogg arrived in Kyiv early Wednesday to continue consultations on ending the war.

Yet the calls to hold elections are increasingly putting Zelenskiy in a bind and risk eroding his position as the country's leader.

Ukraine has rejected calls to hold the vote for fear of Russian interference and the sheer challenge of organizing the vote in wartime. Martial law, which remains in place in the country, prohibits holding an election. 

“If someone wants to replace me right now — right now won't work,” Zelenskiy said. “Unfortunately, President Trump — I treat him with great respect as a leader of a people that we truly respect, the American people, who support us constantly — unfortunately lives in this disinformation space.”

But the Ukrainian leader may face political challenges ahead. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, a former popular military chief who is now Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, didn't explicitly rule out running in an election against Zelenskiy when asked about his political ambitions. 

“To answer this question, let's first establish conditions to make this issue relevant,” the ambassador said via video link from London at an event in Kyiv on Wednesday. “When these conditions materialise, I, as a civil servant, working for the state, will be ready to answer such questions.”