DONALD Trump sparked uproar yesterday after branding Ukraine’s hero wartime leader “a dictator without elections”.
The US President warned “modestly successful comedian” Volodymyr Zelensky must “move fast or he is not going to have a country left”.
US President Donald Trump branded Ukraine’s hero wartime leader ‘a dictator without elections’[/caption]
The President warned Volodymyr Zelensky must ‘move fast or he is not going to have a country left’[/caption]
But Mr Trump was accused of living in “fantasy land” over his sympathetic view toward Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin.
The war of words erupted after the Ukrainian leader accused Mr Trump of living in “a disinformation space” following the US leader’s claims Mr Zelensky — rather than invader Putin — had started the conflict three years ago.
Mr Trump used his Truth Social platform to accuse Mr Zelensky of playing his predecessor Joe Biden “like a fiddle”.
The US President said: “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, Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.
“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.”
Mr Trump also said Europe “has failed to bring peace”.
Last night Sir Keir Starmer hit out after speaking to Mr Zelensky.
His spokesman said: “The Prime Minister expressed his support for President Zelensky as Ukraine’s democratically-elected leader and said it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war as the UK did during World War Two.
“The Prime Minister reiterated his support for the US-led efforts to get a lasting peace in Ukraine.”
There was widespread dismay at Mr Trump’s claims Ukraine should never have taken up arms against the invading Russians and his comments that the war was entirely avoidable and Mr Zelensky was not elected and unpopular.
Those comments were widely condemned around the globe amid false claims by Mr Trump that the US had given more support to Ukraine than Europe had.
Elections in Ukraine were suspended under martial law following the 2022 invasion.
Politicians warned the US attacks would only unite people behind their leader.
Despite Mr Trump’s claims, Europe has given more aid to Ukraine than America, both in real cash terms and relative to GDP.
Europe handed over £110billion compared to America’s £95billion, according to Berlin’s Kiel Institute.
The tirade comes after the US leader said he was disappointed Mr Zelensky had complained about being left out of peace talks with Russia.
He said Kyiv should have been willing to make concessions and: “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”
The US President was accused of living in ‘fantasy land’ over his sympathetic view toward Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin[/caption]
There was widespread dismay at Donald Trump’s claims Ukraine should never have taken up arms against the invading Russians[/caption]
Mr Zelensky responded by saying: “With all due respect to President Donald Trump, as leader of a nation we respect greatly . . . he is living in this disinformation space.”
Vice-President JD Vance branded the Ukraine response disgraceful, warning Mr Zelensky not to bait the White House.
He told the National Pulse: “The idea he’s going to litigate his disagreements with the President in the public square . . . is not a good way to deal with President Trump.”
UK Defence Secretary John Healey said: “Three years ago, one country illegally invaded another, and since then the Ukrainians have been fighting for their freedom.
“They’ve been fighting for their future, and they still are.”
‘Insulting’
Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace accused the White House of pumping out fake news, adding Mr Trump’s words were “straight out of the Kremlin talking points”.
Ex-PM Boris Johnson, who was in office when the war began, said: “Of course Ukraine didn’t start the war. You might as well say that America attacked Japan at Pearl Harbour.”
But he claimed Mr Trump’s statements are meant to “shock Europeans into action”.
Meanwhile, a number of Ukrainian politicians insisted support for Mr Zelensky is overwhelming and it is insulting for Mr Trump to demand elections.
MPs in Kyiv warned it would be impossible to hold ballots before a ceasefire and said their leader has more than 50 per cent support.
Speaking on The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots show, a leading Trump ally — Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw — warned Europe must become “uncomfortably aggressive” with Russia ahead of any negotiations.
Ukraine is under a lot of pressure in the east, but Russia is continuing to take massive casualties for tiny gains of territory.
Source
He said it was time to “out crazy” the Kremlin, with boots on the ground in Ukraine. Officials have insisted Britain is determined to keep Ukraine “in the fight” — despite the war of words.
A source said former President Biden gave Kyiv enough weapons to survive into the summer before he left office. But they warned Ukraine needed more troops to replace their dead and wounded.
They said: “We’re fortunate that at the end the Biden administration was able to put a lot of kit into Ukraine, and that sustains Ukraine.
“Ukraine is under a lot of pressure in the east, but Russia is continuing to take massive casualties for tiny gains of territory.” They warned: “We know Ukraine has got to do more with its people.”
Shortly after this week’s peace talks in Saudi Arabia between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian officials, a Russian drone blitz on Odesa injured four and left tens of thousands without power.
It was just hours after Moscow said it never hit civilian targets.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking after the talks, claimed his country “never endangered Ukraine’s energy system”.
The US request for a pause in Russia’s power station blitz was the only concession America is known to have asked for.
Why Don’s wrong
DONALD Trump is delusional and is throwing allies to the wolves.
The Sun’s reporters have risked their lives to report the truth from Ukraine’s frontlines and it is nothing like the fairytale that he describes from Mar-a-Lago.
Make no mistake. Vladimir Putin started this war. Not Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s approval rating is not four per cent. It is probably higher than Mr Trump’s at 50 per cent, based on the latest surveys.
Kyiv has not held elections because the country is at war. Britain suspended elections when World War Two was going on.
And Europe has given more aid than the US — both in real cash terms and relative to GDP. Europe gave £109billion to £94billion, according to Berlin’s Kiel institute.
The US President is right that the war is a bloodbath. But his claim that “millions have unnecessarily died” is simply not rooted in reality.
Around 1.1million people have been killed and injured in total, from both sides. Western governments and Nato estimate a quarter of them are dead.
So why is the world’s most powerful man spouting Kremlin inspired nonsense? It looks like Trump has a man-crush on Putin and a vendetta against Zelensky.
At the moment he seems willing to give Putin everything that he wants.
So the question now for Mr Trump and his allies is whose side is he on?
By Jerome Starkey
