The U.S. president’s criticism of his counterpart in Kyiv sparked consternation across the continent.
European leaders have rallied to the defense of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he was criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
In a Feb. 19 Truth Social post that was shared on his X and Instagram accounts, Trump called Zelenskyy a “dictator” who was doing a “terrible job” and had played his predecessor President Joe Biden “like a fiddle.”
He said the Ukrainian president had “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.”
The president went on to say that Zelenskyy “will never be able to settle” the war without the United States and Trump.”
He later elaborated on his reasoning for his dressing down of Zelenskyy at a Saudi-backed investment summit in Miami, Florida, accusing the Ukrainians of backing out of a rare earths deal with America.
Trump’s remarks sparked consternation across Europe and the wider West—which has hitherto been, for the most part, uncritical of the government in Kyiv and has largely lavished praise on Zelenskyy—and swiftly rallied to defend him.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Zelenskyy was a “democratically elected leader” and that it was “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during wartime as the UK did during World War II,” according to Downing Street.
Under normal circumstances, Zelenskyy would have been up for reelection last spring, but Ukrainian law does not allow elections during a state of martial law. The government in Kyiv has extended its martial law status continuously since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote in a post on X that “it is simply wrong and dangerous to deny president Zelenskyy democratic legitimacy.”
“The fact that regular elections cannot be held in the middle of a war is in line with the requirements of the Ukrainian constitution and electoral laws. No one should claim otherwise,” Scholz said.
French President Emmanuel Macron was slightly more diplomatic in his post on the Elon Musk-owned platform, saying that France “stood with Ukraine” but adding, “We share the objective, which is also that of President Donald Trump, to put an end to Russia’s war of aggression, which has been ongoing for nearly three years now.”
By Guy Birchall
