President Trump seems determined to end the war in Ukraine — as he promised during his election campaign — but in his own way. After excluding Europe from the talks, Donald Trump blamed Ukraine for the war with Russia and lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while also wondering where the $350 billion that the U.S. has given to Ukraine since the start of the war went.
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U.S. President Donald Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, accusing him of refusing to have elections, and repeating false claims about the war in Ukraine.
"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,'" President Trump wrote.
As Russia's negotiations with the Trump administration over Ukraine officially began in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. President made clear at a news conference that he holds Ukraine responsible for the war with Russia, Zelensky responsible for the plight of Ukraine — which he said has been under martial law for a long time — called for immediate elections in Ukraine. He called the situation in Ukraine a "catastrophe" and wondered where the $350 billion the U.S. has given Ukraine since the start of the war went.
Donald Trump called Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" and demanded elections in Ukraine. He said he was "disappointed" by the Ukrainian reaction to its absence from the negotiating table and blamed Kiev for the war with Russia.
Finally, the American President wondered where the 350 billion that the US has given to Ukraine since the start of the war ended up.
"They could have made a deal," he said. "I hear they're annoyed that they don't have a place in the talks. But they had been in place for three years and for a long time before. All of this could have been settled very easily," he said from Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
"They should never have started this, they could have made a deal," he added, adding: "That would have given them almost all the land, no man would have been killed and no city would have been destroyed."
Trump President repeated pressure on Zelensky to hold elections, one of Moscow's key demands. He argued that Ukrainians deserve to have a say through elections, adding that the country has been under martial law for a long time.
"This is not Russia's position, it is something that comes from me and from other countries," he said. He said Zelensky's popularity was extremely low (at 4%) and described the situation in Ukraine as a "catastrophe", with most cities suffering extensive damage.
After the first U.S.-Russia meeting, both sides agreed on a nebulous series of negotiations on Ukraine and "mutual geopolitical interests," while preparations for a Trump-Putin summit will begin, although no date was set.
