Washington/ParisUS President Donald Trump has called his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" and threatened him that he will be left "without a country" if he "does not move quickly." The escalation of tension comes after the tycoon on Tuesday expressed support for Russia's idea of holding elections in Ukraine and linked the right to be elected to the presidential elections. at the negotiating table with the holding of elections. Now the Republican is increasing the pressure on Kiev in that direction and further strengthening the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the face of future negotiations. Trump continues to make concessions in Moscow without asking for or getting anything in return before they even sat down at the table.
"He refuses to hold elections, has very low support in Ukrainian polls, and the only thing he was good at was making Biden dance to his tune. A dictator without elections, Zelensky must move fast or he will not have a country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the war," the US president wrote on his Truth network. With this statement, Trump is buying into the Kremlin's rhetoric, which has previously said that it does not see Zelensky as a legitimate leader because he has not renewed his mandate in an election. Zelensky's five-year mandate expired in 2024, but no elections were held due to the state of martial law that has prevailed in the country since the war broke out.
He also repeated the same idea - without proof - that he hinted at this Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago: that a good part of the money sent by the US to Ukraine to help it in the war is unknown. "Zelensky admits that half of the money we sent him has DISAPPEARED," he said. In the process, Trump also took the opportunity to attack Europe over its contribution to the conflict. "The United States has spent 200 billion dollars more than Europe, and Europe's money is guaranteed, while the United States will not get anything back. Why the US is not going to pay for it?"asleep Didn't Joe Biden demand an equalization, if this war is much more important for Europe than for us? We have a big and beautiful ocean as a separation," he said.
Trump has insisted that the United States has sent 350 billion dollars in aid to Ukraine, although, according to the German research institute Kiel, the figure was sent by the Americans10. Washington and Moscow delegations met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, excluding Kiev, to decide the future of the war, Trump said he was "disappointed" that Zelensky had complained about being left out of the negotiations. Once again, the tycoon blamed him for the war - ignoring the fact that Russia was the one that invaded Ukraine in February 2022 - and said that he could have "reached a deal" to avoid the invasion "three years ago", when Putin issued the ultimatum.
Asked if he supported the Kremlin's idea of holding elections in Ukraine, Trump did not rule it out and said that "that is not a Russian thing." "I say that and many other countries." "They want a seat at the table, but... Would the people of Ukraine have a say? There have been no elections for a long time," said the Republican, who reiterated the words of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Trump also said on Tuesday that he could meet with Putin before the end of February.
Zelensky turns
Throughout the war, Washington has been the main economic and military ally for Ukraine to stay on its feet. Seeing how the US is moving further away from Kiev, Zelensky had confronted the tycoon on Wednesday morning, saying that he lives "trapped in a bubble of Russian disinformation" and that he needs "more truth" about Ukraine. Trump has not liked seeing how the Ukrainian, who until now had tried to avoid the conflict, has returned to him and has exploded at Truth saying that he is a "dictator."
In his appearance, Zelensky had insisted that "I never comment on popularity ratings, especially my own or those of other leaders," but he has not been able to remember that the latest poll shows that 58% of Ukrainians trust him "So if someone wants to replace him." Zelensky also said there was a "disinformation circle around President Trump," including representatives linked to the Hungarian and Slovak governments. "This is worrying. All they are doing is making sure that Ukraine is weak." Two candidates who ran against Zelensky in the 2019 election, former President Petro O. Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, have been in contact with the Trump team, the outlet reported. New York Times In January,
By making Moscow the main interlocutor on ending the war in Ukraine, Washington has triggered a crisis between European partners and within Ukraine. Already this week, EU leaders have been meeting to decide how to deal with the situation, as they watch the alliance forged with the US at the end of the 20th century fade away. In just one month, Trump has had enough to endanger the democratic values that shape the EU.
Macron and Starmer to meet Trump in Washington next week
White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has announced that French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Washington next week to meet with Donald Trump and discuss the future of negotiations on Ukraine. He will not be the only European leader to come with these intentions: next week, Trump will also receive British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been particularly combative in claiming the role of Zelensky and Europe in the negotiations. The official residence of Downing Street had reported on Monday about Starmer's trip, but until now the French leader had not been announced. "Macron and Starmer will come to Washington next week," Waltz said. The news of Macron's trip, of enormous importance due to the escalation of tension between the US and Europe in recent days, came at the end of the second summit that Macron has organised to try to get Europe to react, absent from the negotiating table that Trump and Putin imagine to decide the future of the war in Ukraine. The French president, in fact, met this Wednesday by videoconference with European partners and some NATO allies after the summit of European countries that he convened on Monday in Paris failed to reach an agreement on sending troops to Ukraine .
The meeting was called after complaints from some countries that were not invited to the first meeting. Among others, the leaders of Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Greece, Norway and Canada took part, but not those of the countries that were invited on Monday. Neither Hungary nor Slovakia, two of the most Eurosceptic governments, were present.
The leaders discussed the Ukrainian peace process, which is beginning to be negotiated without Kiev or Brussels, security in Europe and the possibility of sending soldiers to Ukraine when there is a ceasefire, a proposal that has generated reluctance among some European countries. In an interview with the French regional press, Macron pointed out that Europe would not send troops on the ground while the conflict lasts, but rather that it would be a peacekeeping contingent that would serve to stabilise the ceasefire and prevent Russia from attacking again.
The French president also calls for US troops to be part of any future peacekeeping contingent, arguing that the US presence in Ukraine would prevent a new Russian attack. "Since Russia is a nuclear-capable state, this point [the participation of US troops] is key for European partners," says Emmanuel Macron. Trump has said he is in favour of European soldiers guaranteeing peace in Ukraine when negotiations to end the war are successful, but he has not said whether the US would participate.
In the same interview, the French president again warns of the possibility of Putin attacking Europe. "Russia is an existential threat to Europeans, given its actions in various areas. Through its actions on the Polish border, through its cyber attacks on our countries, through attacks like in the United Kingdom, through the manipulation of information and electoral processes like in Romania, through its explicit threats through the ." And he ends with a disturbing warning that makes clear the fear of a military attack on European territory: "Do not think that the unthinkable, even the worst, cannot happen."
