Posted on 02/19/25
| News Source: WSJ
President Trump called Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” and accused him of misusing U.S. aid, after the Ukrainian president said Trump was repeating Russian propaganda points.
“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,’” Trump wrote in a social-media post on Wednesday. “A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”
The comments marked a significant escalation of Trump’s criticism of Zelensky, and could complicate efforts to end the war. They come one day after the U.S. president accused Zelensky of starting the war in Ukraine, which began after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a large-scale invasion of the country three years ago.
Zelensky told reporters in Ukraine earlier Wednesday that Trump is “living in this disinformation space.”
He added, “I want there to be more truth in Trump’s team.”
Trump’s comments echo calls of Russian President Vladimir Putin for Ukraine to hold elections, something that is barred under Ukrainian law during wartime. Putin has called Zelensky illegitimate as his term expired in 2024.