Trump calls Ukraine’s Zelensky a dictator, tells him to move fast or lose his country
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky trade barbs as US-Ukraine relations sour over the war with Russia
US President Donald Trump denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator” on Wednesday and warned he had to move quickly to secure peace or risk losing his country, deepening a feud between the two leaders that has alarmed European officials.
The extraordinary attacks – a day after Trump claimed Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s 2022 invasion – heightened concerns among US allies in Europe that Trump’s approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict could benefit Moscow.
Less than a month into his presidency, Trump has upended US policy on the war, ending a campaign to isolate Russia with a Trump-Putin phone call and talks between senior US and Russian officials that have sidelined Ukraine.
“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump wrote on social media, using an alternate spelling for the Ukrainian president’s name.
In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said no one could force his country to give in.