Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday rebuked former U.S. President Donald Trump for claiming that Ukraine was responsible for its war with Russia, dismissing the assertion as "disinformation" and stating that Ukraine is not for sale. Zelenskyy's remarks came in response to Trump's comments the previous day, in which the former president suggested Kyiv could have made a deal to avoid the conflict and questioned Zelenskyy's legitimacy as Ukraine's leader.
"Unfortunately, President Trump... lives in this disinformation space," Zelenskyy said at a press conference in Kyiv. He also rejected Trump's claim that his approval rating among Ukrainians is at 4%, citing a recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology that showed 57% of Ukrainians trust him.
Trump's remarks, made at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday, have drawn criticism for echoing a longstanding Russian narrative that blames Ukraine and NATO expansion for Moscow's 2022 invasion. "You should have never started it," Trump said of Ukraine, adding, "You could have made a deal."
The reaction from Moscow was largely positive. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Trump's statements, calling him "the first and, so far, the only Western leader who has publicly said that one of the root causes of the Ukrainian situation was the previous administration's efforts to draw Ukraine into NATO." Lavrov's remarks, delivered to Russian lawmakers, signaled the Kremlin's approval of Trump's framing of the conflict.
Zelenskyy also addressed U.S.-Russia talks that took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, where American and Russian officials discussed pathways to ending the war without Ukrainian involvement. He argued that Kyiv's exclusion from these talks helped "Putin out of his long isolation." While acknowledging that countries have the right to engage in bilateral discussions, he stressed that any resolution must involve Ukraine directly.
Refuting another of Trump's claims, Zelenskyy defended Ukraine's decision not to hold a presidential election during the war. Trump, echoing Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested that Zelenskyy's leadership is illegitimate due to the lack of elections since his 2019 victory. Under Ukraine's constitution, elections are prohibited under martial law, which has been in place since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Trump's remarks have raised concerns in Kyiv about the future of U.S. support for Ukraine. Since the war began, Washington has provided $67 billion in weapons and $31.5 billion in budgetary assistance. Zelenskyy also pushed back against claims that Ukraine had been asked to hand over $500 billion in mineral resources as part of U.S. assistance agreements, calling such demands "not a serious conversation."
According to a Pew Research Center poll released earlier this month, 47% of Americans approve of Trump's job performance to some extent. The former president's comments come as he continues to position himself as a key figure in shaping U.S. foreign policy, particularly regarding the war in Ukraine.
