Donald Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of being a “dictator” on Wednesday in a rage-fueled social media post amid his administration’s push to end Russia’s war against the nation.
“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 wrote on Truth Social.
He added of Zelensky: “He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden ‘like a fiddle.’ A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”
Zelensky is not low in the polls or running a dictatorship in Ukraine.
This week, the Trump administration began so-called “peace talks” with Russia regarding their ongoing offensive against Ukraine that excluded the Ukranians from negotiations. On Tuesday, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, Trump accused Ukraine of starting the war three years ago, and of being the primary obstacle to peace.
“Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it — three years. You should have never been there. You should have never started it. You should have made a deal,” the president said of Ukraine. It was, of course, Russia that invaded Ukraine in an effort to seize the nation’s sovereign territory.
In his Wednesday Truth Social Post, Trump claimed that he is “successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the ‘gravy train’ going.”
Trump’s attack against Zelensky on Wednesday was reportedly prompted by Zelensky telling reporters earlier in the day that Trump is “living in a disinformation space” created for him by the Russians.
“If someone wants to replace me right now, it’s not going to happen,” Zelensky said of Trump’s demands that Ukraine hold presidential elections amid the war. While Zelensky’s official five-year presidential term expired in May 2024, Ukrainian elections cannot be held during a declaration of martial law, which has been in effect since the war began in 2022. Zelensky remains the legal president of Ukraine, and has an approval rating of above 50 percent.
Earlier this month, the American president said it was “unlikely” that Ukraine would regain territory lost to Russia during the war, prompting criticism that the Trump administration is already siding with Russia before negotiations even began. His post on Wednesday is the strongest indication yet that Russia’s side is where he and the administration will remain.
