Trump calls Zelenskyy ‘dictator without elections’, warns of Ukraine’s collapse

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday targeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the ongoing war in Ukraine and said that the United States has spent $200 billion more than Europe, while Europe’s financial contributions are “guaranteed” and the US gets no returns.

Trump accused Zelenskyy of persuading the United States to invest billions of dollars in a war he believed could not be won, questioning the allocation of resources and Europe’s lack of equal financial contribution. Trump also called Zelenskyy a dictator without elections.

Sharing a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 billion dollars, to go into a war that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a war that he, without the US and ‘TRUMP’, will never be able to settle.”

pic.twitter.com/PMcrOwXejI

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2025

The post added, “The United States has spent $200 billion dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back. Why didn’t sleepy Joe Biden demand equalization, in that this war is far more important to Europe than it is to us — We have a big, beautiful ocean as separation. On top of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is “MISSING.” 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”.

Trump further asserted that only his administration could have successfully negotiated an end to the war with Russia. While expressing his support for Ukraine, Trump emphasised that Zelenskyy’s poor management has led to a “shattered” country and millions of unnecessary deaths.

Trump added, “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. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the “gravy train” going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his country is shattered, and millions have unnecessarily died – And so it continues.”

A day earlier, following the talks between the United States and Russia on ending the war in Ukraine, Trump expressed his belief that Russia wants to put an end to the conflict, citing the toll the war has taken on soldiers, including Ukrainians, Russians, as well as North Koreans.

He called the war “senseless” and emphasised that it should never have occurred, asserting that it would not have happened under his leadership. On being asked about the talks between US officials and Russian representatives over ending the war, Trump said that he is “much more confident” and “the talks were very good.”

While signing executive orders at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday (local time), Trump said, “Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the barbarianism that’s going on over there. Soldiers are being killed by thousands on a weekly basis. Apart from Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, a lot of Koreans have been killed”.

Trump added, “We want to end it. It’s a senseless war. It should have never happened; it would have never happened if I were President”. (ANI)