Zelensky says Trump needs ‘more truth’ after claims Ukraine started the war
Summary
The Ukrainian president’s comments are his sharpest yet in response to Trump’s criticisms of his leadership and courting of Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
KYIV, Ukraine—President Volodymyr Zelensky said President Trump was repeating Russian propaganda points after the U.S. leader said Ukraine started the war and that Zelensky had lost Ukrainians’ support.
“Unfortunately, he is living in this disinformation space," Zelensky told reporters here Wednesday. “I want there to be more truth in Trump’s team."
Zelensky’s defiant comments—his sharpest yet in response to Trump’s criticisms of his leadership and courting of Russian President Vladimir Putin—reflect a widening gap between Ukraine and the U.S., the country that has been Kyiv’s most important backer.
Trump has said he wants to quickly settle the war in Ukraine, which started when Putin ordered a large-scale invasion of Russia’s smaller neighbor three years ago. He has increasingly blamed Ukraine—and Zelensky personally—for the invasion while engaging with Putin about ways to end it.
Senior U.S. and Russian officials met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday and agreed to appoint teams to negotiate a settlement to the war in Ukraine, marking an end to three years of U.S. policy that focused on isolating Moscow and supporting Kyiv for as long as it was willing to keep fighting.
Zelensky has expressed frustration about not being included in talks and said Kyiv wouldn’t recognize agreements reached without his country. “Our strength is that this deal is impossible without us," he said Wednesday.
Trump indicated Zelensky should hold elections if he wanted a seat at the table, claiming the Ukrainian president’s approval rating had fallen to 4%. He also criticized Zelensky for wanting to take part in talks, saying: “You should’ve ended it in three years. You should have never started it."
Zelensky hit back Wednesday noting a fresh poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology that put his approval rating at 57% in February, a rise of 5 percentage points from December.
“We saw this disinformation. We understand that it is coming from Russia," Zelensky said. “We understand this and have proof that these figures are being discussed between America and Russia."
Trump’s comments Tuesday echo Putin’s calls for Ukraine to hold elections, something that is barred under Ukrainian law during wartime. Putin has called Zelensky illegitimate as his term expired in 2024.
Zelensky also pushed back at Trump’s claims that the U.S. had given Ukraine around $350 billion in support. The Ukrainian president, repeatedly stressing Ukraine’s gratitude, said the U.S. had given $67 billion in military aid and $31.5 billion in support for Ukraine’s budget.
He criticized a U.S. proposal presented to him last week that would have seen Ukraine hand over hundreds of billions of dollars in future revenue from natural-resource extraction.
“That’s not a serious conversation," he said. “I can’t sell our state."
President Trump has said he wants to quickly settle the war in Ukraine.
Write to James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com
