US President Donald Trump first lambasted Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky on his social media platform, Truth Social, before repeating his remarks during a speech in Miami on Wednesday, February 19. Trump said Zelensky was "a dictator without elections."

These virulent attacks come as the US is involved in talks with Moscow, but without Ukraine, over ending the war, and after Zelensky refused to sign a pre-contract delivering Ukrainian natural resources to the US. Detrimental for Kyiv and devoid of security guarantees, this deal was presented by Trump as a "repayment" of the financial aid the US has granted to Ukraine.