Zelenskyy lashes out at Trump over suggestion Ukraine started war, should hold elections again

American and Russian diplomats met in Saudi Arabia Tuesday to get the ball rolling on ending the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made widely known his displeasure at not being invited to the discussions, canceling his trip to Riyadh and telling reporters, "Decisions on how to end the war in Ukraine cannot be made without Ukraine, nor can any conditions be imposed."

Hours after U.S. and Russian dignitaries agreed to appoint high-level teams to "begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible," President Donald Trump addressed Zelenskyy's complaint.

In addition to insinuating that Zelenskyy has proven himself incapable of doing what is needed in such talks and lacks the support of his people, Trump suggested that Ukraine started the war and should resume the practice of holding elections.

After suggesting that there has been little transparency about the hundreds of billions of dollars the U.S. has poured into Europe in recent years, Trump told reporters during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday, "I want to see peace. Look, you know why I want it? Because I don't want all these people killed any more. I'm looking at people that are being killed, and they're Russian and Ukrainian people — but they're people. It doesn't matter where they're from."

"I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it's going very well," continued Trump. "But today I heard, 'Oh well, we weren't invited.' Well, you've been there for three years. You should have ended it three years [ago]."

The 47th president added that Ukraine provoked Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, stating, "You should have never started it."

According to Trump, Ukraine fumbled an opportunity to end the war — a possible allusion to the warring nations' peace talks in 2022 in Turkey, where negotiators reportedly produced multiple drafts of a treaty that would apparently have seen Ukraine's security guaranteed while also satisfying a number of Putin's demands, such as Ukraine's indefinite neutrality and inability to join NATO.

'That's not a Russia thing. That's something coming from me.'

Trump further suggested that while Zelenskyy is upset over his lack of representation at the discussions in Saudi Arabia, the Ukrainian people might similarly be upset over their lack of representation in Kyiv.

"We have a situation where we haven't had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, where the leader in Ukraine, I mean, I hate to say it, but he's down at 4% approval rating," said Trump, citing a figure the Ukrainian press quickly claimed was likely Russian propaganda.

A recent Kyiv International Institute of Sociology survey of 1,000 residents in Ukrainian-controlled territory indicated that 57% of respondents trusted Zelenskyy and 37% did not trust him.

"Wouldn't the people of Ukraine have to say, like, 'You know, it's been a long time since we've had an election,'" continued Trump. "That's not a Russia thing. That's something coming from me and coming from many other countries."

Martial law has been in effect since Feb. 24, 2022, barring elections from taking place. Members of the Ukrainian Parliament, who have been spared political challenges for years, voted earlier this month to extend martial law again until May 9.

'He lives in this disinformation space.'

Zelenskyy's term was supposed to end in May 2024. An end to the war would likely mean he would have to fight for re-election, although he has not confirmed that he will run again.

The Ukrainian president was evidently prickled by Trump's remarks, stating in an interview, "Unfortunately, President Trump, who we respect a lot as a leader of the nation that we really respect — the American nation who supported us all the time — unfortunately, he lives in this disinformation space."

Zelenskyy, who credited Russia with the 4% figure cited by Trump, also said that he "would like Trump's team to be more truthful," reported the Associated Press.

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