Donald Trump, United States President, has, in an explosive post on Wednesday that has stoked anger, launched a fresh attack on Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him. of doing a "terrible job him" and of being a "dictator."
Trump in the post made via his social media platform, Truth Social, warned the Zelensky, who he referred to as to "modestly successful" comedian, to better move fast or "he is not going to have a country left."
He wrote, "Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn't be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and "TRUMP," will never be able to settle.
"The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe's money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back. Why didn't Sleepy Joe Biden demand Equalization, in that this War is far more important to Europe than it is to us We have a big, beautiful Ocean as separation.
"On top of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is "MISSING." 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, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only "TRUMP," and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the "gravy train" going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died - And so it continues..."
Trump's latest salvo came after Zelensky, reacting to US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia from which Kyiv was excluded, said the US president was "living in a disinformation space" governed by Moscow.
Meanwhile, the "dictator" tag quickly prompted criticism from European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said "it is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelensky his democratic legitimacy."
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the comments "absurd".
"If you look at the real world instead of just firing off a tweet, then you know who in Europe has to live in the conditions of a dictatorship: people in Russia, people in Belarus," she told broadcaster ZDF.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also criticised Trump's use of the word "dictator", saying Zelensky had been democratically elected, comments that were echoed by UK opposition leader Kemi Badenoch.
Zelensky's five-year term of office was due to come to an end in May 2024. However, Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and elections are suspended.
A White House official said Trump's latest post was in direct response to Zelensky's "disinformation" comments.
The war of words began with comments made by Trump on Tuesday at a news conference at Mar-A-Lago in Florida, when he blamed Ukraine for the war.
Trump was asked by BBC News what his message was to Ukrainians who might feel betrayed, to which he replied: "I hear that they're upset about not having a seat, well, they've had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily.
"You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," Trump added.
Trump did not mention that President Vladimir Putin took the decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022.
Then on Wednesday, Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv: "We are seeing a lot of disinformation and it's coming from Russia. With all due respect to President Donald Trump as a leader... he is living in this disinformation space."
He added that he believed "the United States helped Putin to break out of years of isolation".
Zelensky also rejected Trump's attempts to access Ukraine's rare minerals, saying no security guarantees were offered in exchange.
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