Trump calls Zelenskiy a ‘dictator’, tells him to move fast or lose Ukraine

Donald Trump, the U.S. President, lashed out at Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday, calling him “a dictator without elections” and warning that Ukraine might not survive unless peace comes quickly.

This came after Zelenskiy responded to Trump’s earlier claim that Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s 2022 invasion. Zelenskiy said Trump was being misled by Russian false information.

“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskiy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha responded firmly on X, saying Ukraine would keep fighting to exist and wouldn’t be forced to give up.

While Zelenskiy’s five-year term should have ended in 2024, Ukraine can’t hold elections during wartime, which began when Russia invaded in February 2022.

Russia now controls about 20% of Ukraine and is slowly taking more land in the east. Russia says it had to act because Ukraine wanted to join NATO, which threatened Russia’s safety. Ukraine and Western countries say Russia is simply trying to take Ukraine’s land.

Read Also: Trump blames Zelenskiy for Russia- Ukraine war

Zelenskiy, who met with Trump’s Ukraine representative Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, wished Trump’s team had “more truth” about Ukraine. This was after Trump claimed Ukraine “should never have started” the conflict with Russia.

Zelenskiy rejected Trump’s claim that only 4% of Ukrainians support him, saying this was Russian misinformation. A recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology shows that 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskiy.

Trump has quickly changed U.S. policy on Ukraine and Russia since becoming president, ending efforts to isolate Russia. He’s now talking with Putin and allowing senior U.S. and Russian officials to meet.

Russian President Putin said Ukraine wouldn’t be kept out of peace talks, but success depends on better trust between Moscow and Washington. He added that while he wants to meet with Trump, they need more than just a casual chat – their teams need to prepare important solutions for both countries.

European officials are worried about these changes, fearing the U.S. might not protect them militarily anymore and that Trump might make a deal with Putin that hurts both Ukraine and European security.