Donald Trump hurled insults at Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, accusing him of being a “dictator” and falsely accusing him of starting the three-year war in Ukraine.
The US president, who has all but reversed America’s policy on the conflict, called Ukraine’s leader a “modestly successful comedian” who had “talked the United States of America into spending $350bn to go into a war that couldn’t be won”.
“[He] probably wants to keep the gravy train going,” Mr Trump continued. “[He] has done a terrible job, his country is shattered, and millions have unnecessarily died.”
The remarks prompted widespread dismay, not least from Mr Zelensky himself who said the US president was repeating Vladimir Putin’s talking points. He accused Mr Trump of living in a Russian-made “disinformation space”, adding that he “would like Trump’s team to be more truthful”. He later added: “We cannot allow Putin to deceive everyone again.”
A French government spokesperson said Mr Trump’s comments were “diverse, varied and often incomprehensible”.
Emmanuel Macron was due to have an informal meeting with some European leaders and Nato ally Canada late on Wednesday.
Before the gathering, Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson said that while there was no complete agreement in the 27-nation EU on how to move forward, the countries had managed to accomplish a lot. “We need to keep a cool head and continue to support Ukraine,” he added.
Mr Trump’s outbursts marked a staggering shift in stance between two countries that have been staunch allies in recent years. Mr Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden ensured that the US provided crucial military equipment to Kyiv to fend off the invasion and used its political weight to defend Ukraine and isolate Russia on the world stage.
Even Trump ally Boris Johnson hit out at the remarks. The former prime minister said the comments “are not intended to be historically accurate, but to shock Europeans into action”. Former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace accused the White House of peddling “fake news”.
A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Zelensky on Wednesday evening to express support for him “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader”.
The prime minister added it was “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during wartime as the UK did during World War Two”.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said that Mr Trump is “right that Europe needs to pull its weight”, but added: “President Zelensky is not a dictator. He is the democratically elected leader of Ukraine who bravely stood up to Putin’s illegal invasion.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said calling Mr Zelensky a dictator “must be where the line is drawn”, adding: “It is my sincere hope that the whole political spectrum in the United Kingdom will speak with one voice in opposition to Trump’s lies.”
Mr Zelensky was elected as president of Ukraine in May 2019. Elections were previously scheduled to go ahead in 2024, but they were not held as a result of martial law being in place.
Russia’s army invaded Ukraine on 24 February, 2022, an act of aggression Putin sought to justify by saying it was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from joining Nato. Ukraine and its allies denounced it as an unprovoked act of aggression.
Russian state TV and other state-controlled media reacted with glee to what they portrayed as Mr Trump’s cold shoulder to Mr Zelensky. “Mr Trump isn’t even trying to hide his irritation with Zelensky,” the Rossiya channel said at the top of its newscast.
“Mr Trump steamrolled Mr Zelensky for his complaints about the talks with Russia,” the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda said.
Putin, meanwhile, said that he is ready to get back to negotiations on Ukraine, Russian state media reported.
He also praised the US-Russia talks, saying their purpose was to increase trust between the two countries and that the two sides acted without “bias or judgement”.
