Trump on the attack calls Zelensky a dictator, claims he stole from US

Washington: President Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary and personal attack on Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling the wartime leader a “dictator without elections” and implying without evidence that Ukraine stole billions from the United States.

While not engaging directly with the provocative statements, Zelensky and European leaders responded by signalling Europe would step up to take on key security responsibilities for Ukraine, with French President Emmanuel Macron declaring he would act as a “guarantor”.

The latest comments underscore a breakdown in relations between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.Credit: Getty Images, AP

In a TruthSocial post that cements a breakdown in relations between the two men and the reversal of a long-standing US position on Russia’s war on Ukraine, Trump trashed Zelensky as “a modestly successful comedian” who had “talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won”.

“On top of this, Zelensky admits that half of the money we sent him is ‘MISSING’, ” Trump claimed. “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, Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”

Maintaining his assertion the war would not have started if he had still been president, Trump went on to claim only he could end the conflict.

“Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelensky probably wants to keep the ‘gravy train’ going,” he wrote. “I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died.”

“Nobody can force Ukraine to give up”: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (centre), in Abu Dhabi this week.Credit: AP

The provocative post full of lies, made on Wednesday, was amplified by Vice President J.D. Vance. But Zelensky declined to respond directly, instead sharing details of direct conversations with several world leaders and key figures including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Macron and US Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Senate’s budget committee.

Zelensky is due to meet Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, on Thursday (Friday AEDT) in Kyiv. “It is crucial for us that the meeting and our overall co-operation with America be constructive,” Zelensky said. “Together with America and Europe, peace can be more secure, and that is our goal.”

This week have seen relations between Trump and Zelensky deteriorate rapidly while Ukraine and Europe were left out of talks between senior American and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.

Trump repeatedly claimed Zelensky had an approval rating of just 4 per cent, which is wrong. A poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology earlier this month found 57 per cent of Ukrainians said they trusted Zelensky, up from 52 per cent in December.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Saudi Arabia after meeting Russian counterparts.Credit: AP

The notion Zelensky is an illegitimate leader with no popular support is a Kremlin propaganda point. Zelensky told Ukrainian television the US president was trapped in a Russian disinformation bubble and said he wanted “more truth” from Trump’s team.

“We have evidence that these figures are being discussed between America and Russia,” Zelensky said. “That is, President Trump ... unfortunately lives in this disinformation space.”

Meanwhile, Macron signalled France and its European partners would take on new responsibility for Ukraine’s security, following fresh conversations with colleagues from the European Union, Iceland, Norway and Canada.

He said the countries had a united position – “a long-lasting and solid peace in Ukraine” – and to end Russia’s aggression, a goal he said Trump shared. But any deal must include Ukraine and account for Europe’s security concerns, he said.

“We stand with Ukraine and will take full responsibility to ensure peace and security in Europe. This is the fundamental interest of France, and I am its guarantor,” Macron said.

“We are convinced of the need to increase our defence and security spending and capabilities for Europe and each of our countries. Decisions will be made in the coming days and weeks.”

Starmer said he spoke to the “democratically elected leader” Zelensky, and stressed the need for everyone to work together. A Downing Street spokesman said Starmer said it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during wartime as the UK did during World War II.

British prime minister Winston Churchill suspended elections in the UK during World War II.

“The prime minister reiterated his support for the US-led efforts to get a lasting peace in Ukraine that deterred Russia from any future aggression,” the spokesman said.

As US Republicans came under pressure to distance themselves from Trump’s remarks, Graham said that, while he held Putin most responsible for the invasion of Ukraine, former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden were also to blame for failing to protect the country and being “pathetically weak in handling Putin”.

He accused them of appeasing Putin as Neville Chamberlain had appeased Hitler. “I am confident that President Trump will end the Ukraine war quickly and in a fashion that will deter future aggression,” he said.

Zelensky noted the bicameral and bipartisan support of US Congress, which has approved billions in defence funding and aid for Ukraine, and praised Graham as “constructive and doing a lot to help bring peace closer”.

As Trump demands security for US weapons and aid, Zelensky has suggested giving American companies the right to extract valuable minerals in Ukraine in return for US security guarantees, but indicated that was not what Trump was offering.

He said the US had given Ukraine $US67 billion ($105 billion) in weapons and $US31.5 billion in budget support, and US demands for $US500 billion in minerals were “not a serious conversation”, and that he could not sell his country.

“We cannot allow Putin to deceive everyone again,” he said. “Before any potential negotiations, all partners must clearly understand that strong security guarantees are the priority for lasting peace.”

Trump’s upending of US policy puts him at odds with allies in the 27-member European Union, whose envoys on Wednesday agreed on a 16th package of sanctions against Russia, including on aluminium and vessels believed to be carrying sanctioned Russian oil.

With Rob Harris, Reuters

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