Name: Trump calls Ukraine’s Zelensky a dictator, tells him to move fast or lose his country
Uploaded: 2025-02-20T19:23:19.000Z
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Description: Trump calls Ukraine’s Zelensky a dictator, tells him to move fast or lose his country

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Agence France-Presse

Volodymyr Zelensky called for “strong” ties with Washington on Thursday, as he met US envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv a day after Donald Trump branded the Ukrainian leader a “dictator”.
Tensions between Zelensky and Trump over the US president’s outreach to Moscow have exploded this week in a series of escalating barbs traded in press conferences and on social media.
The United States is Ukraine’s most important financial and military backer, but the US president has rattled Kyiv and its European backers by opening talks with Moscow they fear could end the war on terms that reward Vladimir Putin.
The row has turned personal with Trump falsely stating Zelensky is hugely unpopular among his own people and the Ukrainian leader in turn saying Trump had succumbed to Russian “disinformation”.


Amid the war of words, Zelensky said on Thursday he had held a “productive meeting” with Kellogg.
“We had a detailed conversation about the battlefield situation, how to return our prisoners of war, and effective security guarantees,” Zelensky said on social media after the meeting.
“Strong Ukraine-US relations benefit the entire world,” he added.
However, there was no joint press conference or statements after the discussions, as would typically be expected for a visiting foreign envoy.
In the United States, some of Trump’s team doubled down on their attacks on Zelensky.
In a post on social media, Elon Musk said Zelensky was “despised by the people of Ukraine”.

Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News that Kyiv’s criticism of the US president was “unacceptable” and urged Zelensky to sign a deal giving preferential access to Ukraine’s critical minerals and natural resources.
“We’re getting all this pushback … they need to tone it down and take a hard look and sign that deal,” he said, adding: “Trump is obviously very frustrated with Zelensky right now.”
Trump is calling for Kyiv to hand over access to its mineral wealth as compensation for tens of billions of dollars in US aid delivered under his predecessor Joe Biden.
Zelensky rejected a deal proposed by Trump as it did not include “security guarantees” – Kyiv’s key demand from its Western backers in any agreement with Russia to halt the fighting.
The feud marks a dramatic reversal from US policy under Biden, who lauded Zelensky as a hero, shipped vast supplies of arms to Kyiv and hammered Moscow with sanctions.
Trump has instead criticised Zelensky and blamed him for starting the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago.

“A Dictator without Elections, Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
Zelensky was elected in 2019 for a five-year term and has remained leader in line with Ukrainian rules under martial law, imposed as his country fights for its survival.
While Zelensky’s popularity has fallen, the percentage of Ukrainians who trust him has never dipped below 50 per cent since the conflict started, according to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).
Trump’s invective drew shock reactions from Europe.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was “wrong and dangerous” to call Zelensky a dictator.
The White House said France’s Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Keir Starmer will visit Trump next week after European leaders held emergency summits in recent days over how to deal with Trump’s threats to overhaul decades of transatlantic security ties.
The Kremlin, buoyed by its rapprochement with Washington, has hailed Trump’s comments.
Russia, which for years has railed against the US military presence in Europe, wants a reorganisation of the continent’s security framework as part of any deal to end the fighting in Ukraine.
Putin said on Wednesday that US allies “only have themselves to blame for what’s happening”, suggesting they were paying the price for opposing Trump’s return to the White House.
Neither Kyiv nor Europe were invited to high-level talks between Russia and US’ top diplomats in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, deepening fears they are being sidelined.


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Ukraine war

Ukraine’s Zelensky calls for strong US ties after Trump brands him a dictator

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky greets US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv on Thursday. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk aboard Marine One on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Ukrainian servicemen conduct a field training exercise in an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region. Photo: AFP

Trump calls Ukraine’s Zelensky a dictator, tells him to move fast or lose his country

US President Donald Trump denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a ‘dictator’ on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

A Ukrainian tank patrols in a village near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv area, Ukraine. Photo: EPA-EFE

Russian soldiers in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry via AP

 US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg meeting with Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters

Trump turns against Zelensky – and towards Russia – as US-Ukraine ties fray

US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington DC. Photo: Reuters

US President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressing a joint session of Congress in Washington in 2022. File photo: AP

This week’s talks in Saudi Arabia were the first time US and Russian officials met to discuss ways to halt the Ukraine war. Photo: AP

US refusing to co-sponsor UN motion backing Ukraine ahead of war anniversary, diplomats say

An electronic sign displays the results of a vote by delegations adopting a resolution on Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York in 2023. File photo: Reuters

Ukrainian servicemen fire a captured Russian howitzer in 2022. The war reaches its third anniversary on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

EU leaders to head to Kyiv, Macron to visit Trump in bid to shore up support for Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and British prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday for a meeting on the Ukraine war. Photo: AFP / Getty Images / TNS

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Ukrainian president had a ‘productive meeting’ with US envoy after exchanging barbs with Donald Trump


Ukrainian president had a ‘productive meeting’ with US envoy after exchanging barbs with Donald Trump.
