Donald Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski is a “dictator without elections”, echoing the Kremlin rhetoric about the war in Ukraine and increasing the public dispute between the two leaders.
In a publication in Truth Social Wednesday, Trump lashed out at Zelenski, accusing him of deceiving the United States to receive billions of dollars in help to Ukraine and misuse that help.
“Think about it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodimir Zelenski, convinced the United States of America to spend 350 billion dollars to enter a war that could not be won, that he never had to start, but a war that he, without the USA. Uu. And ‘Trump’, he can never solve, ”he wrote.
Trump inflated the amount of assistance that the United States has sent to Ukraine since the invasion of Russia in 2022. The United States has provided 66 billion dollars in security assistance. In total, Congress has assigned 175 billion dollars in economic, humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine.
“He refuses to celebrate elections, occupies a very low place in Ukrainian surveys. The only thing that was good was to manipulate Biden as a violin, ”Trump wrote.
“A dictator without choices, Zelenski should act quickly or will have no country left.”
Zelenski was elected president of Ukraine in 2019 with 73 % of the votes. The country has delayed elections, scheduled for early 2024, due to war with Russia.
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A recent public opinion survey in Ukraine showed that 57 % of Ukrainians said they trust Zelenski, compared to 37 % who said no.
A senior administration official declared that Trump’s attack to Zelenski was a direct response to the words of the Ukrainian president that Trump seemed to be operating in a “misinformation space” created by Russia.
“We are seeing a lot of misinformation and that comes from Russia,” said Zelenski on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, President Trump, with due respect, is living in this disinformation space.”
Zelenski’s comment occurred one day after Trump culparated Ukraine to start the war with Russia.
In the Capitol, several Republican senators did not agree with Trump’s criticism to Zelenski.
Senator Lisa Murkowski, from Alaska said “would never refer to President Zelenski as a dictator.” Senator Susan Collins, from Maine, said that Zelenski is not to blame for the invasion of Russia “in any way.”
“Equ up to someone or suggest that someone in Ukraine has the responsibility of this war forgets the fact that Putin lied,” said Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina. “He has lied in every step of the road, and I think that any resolution in Ukraine that makes him feel as if he had won or simply had reached a draw is a bad idea.”
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Mike Pence, who served as Vice President of Trump during his first term, also spoke against the president’s comments and shared a Fox News article, of February 24, 2022, with the headline “Russia invades Ukraine in the largest European attack from World War II ”.
“Mr. President, Ukraine did not start ‘this war,” he wrote. “Russia launched a brutal and no provocation invasion that charged hundreds of thousands of lives. The path to peace must be built on the truth. ”
