U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 18 that he believes Ukraine should hold new elections as he apparently laid blame for the ongoing war on President Volodymyr Zelensky's wartime leadership.
Trump's comments come after U.S. and Russian officials earlier in the day met in Saudi Arabia — without Ukraine — to discuss strategies for ending the full-scale war.
Talking on the topic of why Ukraine was not present at the talks, Trump blamed the besieged country for the start of Russia's invasion and for not "making a deal" to achieve peace.
"But today I heard, 'Oh, well, we weren’t invited.' Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," Trump said while speaking to reporters on Feb. 18.
The comments echo Trump's earlier statements where he blamed Zelensky and the Biden administration for the conflict unleashed by Russia.
Ukraine should hold elections because Zelensky holds a "4% approval rating," Trump also alleged without evidence.
The claim contradicts recent polling from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, which shows that as of December 2024, 52% of Ukrainians trust Zelensky.
Andrea Januta
Kremlin propaganda has pushed the narrative that Zelensky is an illegitimate leader, relying on the premise that his first presidential term was originally meant to end on May 20, 2024. The false allegation ignores the fact that the Ukrainian constitution prohibits elections during martial law, which went into effect after Russia launched the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Trump distanced himself from the Russian narrative, claiming that it was his personal opinion that Ukraine should hold elections.
"That's not a Russia thing. That's something coming from me," he said.
Trump went on to describe the destruction of Ukraine in exaggerated terms, falsely claiming that the majority of its cities had been "blown to smithereens."
"I don't know how anybody even lives there," he said while claiming that a quick deal early in the war could have given Ukraine "almost all of the land, everything, almost all of the land, and no people would have killed, and no city would have been demolished."
Instead of condemning Russia for bombarding Ukraine in daily attacks over the past three years, Trump laid the blame in part on Zelensky's government.
"You have leadership now that's allowed the war to go on," he said. At the same time, the U.S. president praised the talks in Riyadh as "very good," alleging that Russia wants "to do something" and "stop the savage barbarianism."
The U.S.-Russian meeting in Saudi Arabia concluded without concrete agreements on ending the war, but Ukraine's absence serves as a worrying signal for Kyiv and its partners.
The U.S. delegation, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stressed that the talks were just the start of a "long and difficult journey" and the "serious process" to end the full-scale invasion. Rubio previously claimed that both Europe and Ukraine would be involved once official negotiations are underway.
Trump spoke directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Feb. 12 — before calling President Volodymyr Zelensky later that day. The Saudi Arabia talks represent the first direct negotiations between the U.S. and Russia since the launch of the full-scale war.
The Kyiv Independent
(Updated: )
