President Trump unleashed a blistering rebuke of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, calling him a “dictator without elections” who tricked the U.S. into spending billions to help his country.
“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,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social. “A dictator without elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.”
Mr. Trump went on to blast European leaders for providing far less than America in aid to Ukraine as its war with Russia grinds on into a third year. He also claimed that some of America’s massive funding is missing.
The criticism marks a major shift in U.S. foreign policy, which had long viewed Mr. Zelenskyy as a critical ally. It also comes one day after officials from the U.S. and Russia opened talks in Saudi Arabia to end the fighting in Ukraine. Mr. Zelenskyy has complained that his government was excluded from those talks.
It’s also unclear how Mr. Trump derived the $350 billion total for U.S. aid to Ukraine. The inspector general tasked with providing oversight of that funding puts the number at $183 billion as of the end of 2024.
John R. Bolton, who served as national security adviser during Mr. Trump’s first term and is now a fierce critic of the president, griped that the social media post undermines U.S. security.
SEE ALSO: Trump’s broadside of Zelenskyy, Ukraine rejected by Europeans but hailed by Moscow
“Trump’s characterizations of Zelenskyy and Ukraine are some of the most shameful remarks ever made by a U.S. president. Our support of Ukraine has never been about charity; our way of life at home depends on our strength abroad,” he wrote on X.
Mr. Trump ripped the Ukrainian leader for refusing “to have elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden ‘like a fiddle.’ … 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.”
The lengthy social media post was a major escalation in the burgeoning feud between the two leaders.
Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Zelenskyy hit back at Mr. Trump’s assertion that Ukraine started its war with Russia, saying the American president is trapped in a “circle of disinformation” and added that his country was not for sale.
“I would like to have more truth with the Trump team,” he said.
Mr. Zelneskyy’s criticism followed Mr. Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine was responsible for Russia’s invasion of the country in February 2022, arguing that Kyiv could have made a deal to avoid the conflict.
“You should have never started it,” Mr. Trump said of Ukraine while speaking to reporters on Tuesday.
“I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it’s going very well. But today I heard, “Oh well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal,” he said.
Mr. Trump’s comment prompted political blowback in the U.S.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said,
“It deliberately distorts the truth. It’s just disgusting to see an American president turn against one of our friends and openly side with a thug like [Russian President] Vladimir Putin.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.