Trump brands Zelensky 'a dictator'
Since assuming office, U.S. President Donald Trump has dramatically shifted policy regarding Ukraine, halting funding and arms support while opening direct negotiations with Moscow.
In a statement on his Truth Social platform, Trump took aim at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose five-year term expired last year. “A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump wrote, referring to the fact that Ukraine has not held elections since the Russian invasion began. However, under Ukrainian law, elections are not required during wartime.
On Tuesday, Trump held a press conference in which he strongly criticized Zelensky, repeated several Kremlin-backed narratives about the war, and called for a resolution to the conflict. In response, Zelensky accused Trump of falling for Russian "disinformation," particularly regarding Trump's claims that Kyiv was responsible for starting the war and his questioning of Zelensky’s legitimacy.
Trump continued his attacks on Zelensky in another post, stating, “He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing (Joe) Biden ‘like a fiddle.’” He also claimed that only his administration was capable of negotiating an end to the war with Russia.
Despite his declining popularity, Zelensky has maintained majority public trust throughout the conflict. The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) reports that his approval rating has never fallen below 50% since the war began. However, political pressure continues to mount as Ukraine faces both external threats and internal scrutiny over its leadership.
|