President Donald Trump sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a Truth Social post Monday, claiming that Zelenskyy “doesn’t want there to be peace” after his comments late Sunday.
Responding to Zelensky’s remarks that the war between Ukraine and Russia “is still very, very far away,” Trump’s post marks another escalation in his criticism of Ukraine’s leadership. “I think our relationship (with the U.S.) will continue, because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” Zelenskyy said late Sunday, referring to Washington’s support for the past three years of war.
Trump wrote on Monday: “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer! It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”
During his presidency, Trump was impeached over a phone call with Zelenskyy in which he pressured Ukraine to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden. More recently, Trump has suggested he could quickly negotiate an end to the war if re-elected, though he has not provided details on how he would do so.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly expressed gratitude for U.S. support, arguing that continued military aid is crucial to Ukraine’s survival against Russian aggression. The Biden administration has pushed for additional funding for Ukraine, though some Republican lawmakers have voiced opposition to further aid.
The war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has now entered its third year with no clear resolution in sight.
Zelenskyy publicly was upbeat despite recent diplomatic upheaval between Western countries that have been helping Ukraine with military hardware and financial aid. The turn of events is unwelcome for Ukraine, whose understrength army is having a hard time keep bigger Russian forces at bay.
The Ukrainian leader was in London to attend U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s effort to rally his European counterparts around continuing — and likely much increased — support for Ukraine from the continent amid political uncertainty in the U.S., and Trump’s overtures toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Europe is suspicious of Trump’s motives and strategy. Friedrich Merz, Germany’s likely next leader after the recent election, said Monday that he didn’t think last Friday’s Oval Office blow-up was spontaneous.
He said that he had watched the scene repeatedly. “My assessment is that it wasn’t a spontaneous reaction to interventions by Zelenskyy, but apparently an induced escalation in this meeting in the Oval Office,” Merz said.
