Ukraine forcefully pushed back Wednesday against increasingly hostile rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump, who suggested Ukraine was responsible for Russia’s full-scale invasion and called President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator.”
Trump’s comments about Ukraine came after U.S. and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia for the first time this week to begin discussing a peaceful end to the nearly three-year war — talks held without representatives from Kyiv or Europe.
The bilateral talks have alarmed Ukrainian and European leaders who fear Ukraine is being shut out of peace negotiations — something Ukraine says it will never accept.
“Nobody can force Ukraine to give up. We will defend our right to exist,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.
Shortly after, Trump posted a diatribe against Zelenskyy on his Truth Social website, accusing the Ukrainian president of keeping the war going just to “keep the ‘gravy train’” of U.S. aid flowing and refusing to hold elections.
“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a country left,” Trump wrote.
Elections have been suspended in Ukraine since Zelenskyy, who was elected in 2019, imposed martial law in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion.
The next election was previously scheduled to take place last spring.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that Trump’s “dictator” comment was out of line, German newspaper Spiegel reported.
“It is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelenskyy his democratic legitimacy,” Scholz said.
During that Tuesday press conference, when asked why Ukraine wasn’t included in the U.S.-Russia talks, Trump accused Ukraine not just of avoiding a negotiated end to the war but also of starting it.
“Today I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited. ‘Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it three years (ago). You should have never started it. You could have made a deal,” Trump told reporters, while calling for new Ukrainian elections.
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Zelenskyy, speaking Wednesday ahead of talks with U.S. envoy Gen. Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, said he would like Trump’s team to have “more truth” about Ukraine. He said Trump’s claim that Zelenskyy’s approval rating is just four per cent came from Russian disinformation in an effort to replace him.
“President Trump … unfortunately lives in this disinformation space,” Zelenskyy told Ukrainian TV.
The latest survey from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, released Wednesday, suggests the president enjoys a 57 per cent approval rating.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress called Trump’s comment blaming Ukraine for its own invasion “as revolting as it is false.” Its statement also said it was “absurd” to call for new elections “while Russian rockets and missiles rain down on Ukrainian homes, hospitals and schools.”
“Trump’s insults directed at Ukrainian leaders and the undermining of Ukrainian sovereignty will only encourage Russia to further aggression against Ukraine and Ukraine’s neighbours,” said UCC national president Alexandra Chyczji, who called Trump a “willing instrument of the Kremlin.”
“It should by now be crystal clear to the EU and other NATO leaders that the United States under President Trump is no longer a reliable ally — neither in the defence of Ukraine’s freedom nor in the guarantees of the alliance.”
European leaders, meanwhile, are holding multiple rounds of talks in Paris to discuss the future of Ukraine and continental security as Trump turns the U.S. away from a leading role in supporting the country’s defence against Russia’s invasion.
After the first round on Monday, some leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said they would support sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as part of a peace deal, while others said it was premature to discuss it.
Trump said Tuesday he would be “fine” with European troops in Ukraine, which Russian officials said was something Moscow would not accept.
Canada was invited to the second round of talks on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s itinerary indicating he would be participating virtually.
Those leaders have raised concerns about Ukraine not being involved in negotiations, and that a peace process led by Russia and the U.S. will only embolden Moscow and threaten European security.
“Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Trudeau said Wednesday at an unrelated press conference in Montreal.
He said Russia’s invasion and continued aggression risks “not just Ukrainians’ ability to determine their own future, it puts at risk all of our democracies, all of the rules that keep us safe and prosperous.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Ukraine would not be excluded from negotiations to end the war, but success would depend on raising the level of trust between Moscow and Washington first.
Tuesday’s talks in Riyadh not only touched on Ukraine but also saw both sides agree to re-staff their respective embassies and work toward greater economic cooperation.
Putin reaffirmed his commitment to meet with Trump in person, but added it will take time to set up that summit.
The battlefield has brought grim news for Ukraine in recent months. A relentless onslaught in eastern areas by Russia’s bigger army is grinding down Ukrainian forces, which are slowly but steadily being pushed backward at some points on the 1,000-kilometer front line.
American officials have signaled that Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO in order to ward off Russian aggression after reaching a possible peace agreement won’t happen. Zelenskyy says any settlement will require U.S. security commitments to keep Russia at bay.
“We understand the need for security guarantees,” Kellogg said in comments carried by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne Novyny on his arrival at Kyiv train station.
“It’s very clear to us the importance of the sovereignty of this nation and the independence of this nation as well. … Part of my mission is to sit and listen,” the retired three-star general said.
Kellogg said he would convey what he learns on his visit to Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “and ensure that we get this one right.”
—With files from the Associated Press and Reuters
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