President Donald Trump blasted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator without elections” on Wednesday, after the U.S. left Ukraine out of initial peace talks with Russia this week.
“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. “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.”
Trump added, “I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues…..”
Zelenskyy criticized Trump earlier Wednesday in comments to reporters in Kyiv after canceling a trip to Saudi Arabia, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Special Envoy Ambassador Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian counterparts ot start negotiating the end of war in Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, President Trump – I have great respect for him as a leader of a nation that we have great respect for, the American people who always support us – unfortunately lives in this disinformation space,” Zelensky said.
Nearly one year past the expiration of Zelenskyy’s first five-year term, the U.S. and Russia are in agreement that Ukrainians must go to the polls and decide whether to keep their head of state.
Russia has insisted it will not sign a peace agreement until Ukraine agrees to hold elections, and the U.S. is now “floating” the idea of a three-stage plan: ceasefire, then Ukrainian elections, then inking of a peace deal.
UKRAINE ADVOCATES SAY POST-WAR ELECTIONS WOULD BE A FAR BETTER OPTION, BUT ELECTIONS OFFER RUSSIA AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOW CHAOS.
Zelenskyy’s term in office was supposed to end last May, with elections originally slated for April 2024. But the president’s aides have said elections will not be held until six months after the end of martial law. The Ukrainian constitution prohibits holding elections under martial law.
With his popularity having plummeted nearly 40% since the war’s outbreak, Zelenskyy’s future could be in jeopardy if peace is reached and elections are triggered.
Ukraine advocates say post-war elections would be a far better option, but elections offer Russia an opportunity to sow chaos. “The only person that benefits from elections before there’s a durable peace deal is Putin,” Andrew D’Anieri, fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, previously told Fox News Digital. “The Kremlin loves elections, not in their own country, but elsewhere, because it provides an opportunity to destabilize things.”
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. This is a developing news story. Check back for updates.
