Everything that has been said in Donald Trump and Zelensky’s war of words
US President Donald Trump labelled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a ‘modestly successful comedian’ and ‘terrible’ leader who convinced America to spend billions on the war with Russia.
The pair have continued to trade barbs, with Trump saying Zelensky ‘talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion, to go into a War that couldn’t be won’.
He blasted Zelensky in a Truth Social post that he also shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, a day after US and Russian officials left Zelensky out of peace negotiations in Saudi Arabia.
‘In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only “TRUMP,” and the Trump Administration, can do,’ the US president wrote.
‘Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the “gravy train” going.’
The tense exchange has been mainly over social media and through press conferences as peace talks held by the US and Russia stall.
Trump: ‘You should have never started it’
Trump on Tuesday said Zelensky ‘should have never started’ the war. The US President said leaders in Kyiv should not have allowed the conflict to begin, suggesting they should have been willing to make concessions before Vladimir Putin sent troops across the border in 2022.
Speaking to reporters in Palm Beach, Trump said: ‘Today I heard, “Oh, well, we weren’t invited”. Well, you have been there for three years. You should have ended it three years ago.
‘You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.’
Zelensky: Trump lives in a ‘disinformation space’
Zelensky responded to the President by saying Trump ‘lives in this disinformation space’. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hit back in a press conference this morning in Kyiv: ‘Unfortunately, President Trump – I have great respect for him as a leader of a nation that we have great respect for, the American people who always support us – unfortunately lives in this disinformation space,’ he said.
Historian and propaganda analyst Ian Garner told Metro: ‘The thing about Trump’s comments is that what Trump is saying isn’t based on disinformation. Disinformation is some sort of actively created lie or fake story that’s disseminated by somebody who wants to distort your understanding of the world.
‘His comments don’t come from disinformation, they come from pure fantasy.’
Trump: Zelensky was only good at ‘playing Biden’
Trump said that ‘the only thing’ Zelensky was good at was ‘playing Biden “like a fiddle.”‘
‘He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.” A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,’ he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump in his social media post also claimed that Zelensky ‘admits that half of the money we sent him is ‘missing’ and that he refuses to have elections in his country and is polling low.
‘I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues…..’ Trump concluded.
Trump’s figures are inaccurate, based on a Ukraine support tracker by the Kiel Institute. According to the institute, the US has given $118.9billion in aid to Ukraine from January 2022 through the end of 2024, while Europe has allocated $137.7billion.
UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch agreed with Trump that Europe needs to step up its financial commitments – but also praised Zelensky and vowed to continue supporting Ukraine.