What you need to know:
- Less than a month into his presidency, Donald Trump has drastically altered U.S. policy on the war, ending a campaign to distance the United States from Russia
US President Donald Trump referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a "dictator" on Wednesday, stating that he must take swift action to secure peace or risk losing his country, intensifying a dispute between the two leaders that has concerned European officials.
The extraordinary attacks - a day after Trump stated Ukraine was responsible for Russia's 2022 invasion - increased concerns among US allies in Europe that Trump's approach to resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict could be advantageous to Moscow.
Less than a month into his presidency, Trump has fundamentally altered the US policy on the conflict, ending a campaign to isolate Russia with a Trump-Putin phone conversation and high-level diplomatic talks between the US and Russia that have marginalized Ukraine.
"A Dictator without Elections, Zelensky needs to move quickly or he won't have a Country left," Trump said on social media, misspelling the Ukrainian president's name.
In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that no one could compel his country to surrender.
"We will defend our right to exist," Sybiha said on X.
Zelensky's five-year term was initially set to expire in 2024. However, due to Ukraine imposing martial law in February 2022 in response to Russia's invasion, presidential and parliamentary elections cannot be held.
US President Trump's outburst came after Ukrainian President Zelenskiy's comments on Tuesday, in which he stated that the US President was repeating Russian misinformation when he claimed that Ukraine "should never have started" the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion three years ago.
US Vice President JD Vance cautioned President Zelensky against launching a strike against Trump.
"Everyone who knows the president believes that badmouthing him in public media is a completely unacceptable way to handle the administration," Vance said in his West Wing office, the Daily Mail reported.
Russia has taken control of approximately 20% of Ukraine and is gradually expanding its territory in the east. Moscow has stated that its "special military operation" was necessary in response to what it claims is a threat to its very existence posed by Ukraine's bid to join NATO. Ukraine and the West, on the other hand, describe Russia's actions as an imperialist land grab.
The Ukrainian leader stated that Trump's claim that his approval rating stood at 4% was Russian disinformation and that any attempt to replace him would be unsuccessful.
"We have evidence that these figures are being discussed between America and Russia. That is, President Trump unfortunately operates in a sphere of disinformation," Zelenskiy said to Ukrainian TV.
A recent poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in early February found that 57% of Ukrainians have confidence in Zelenskiy.
Following Trump's latest comments, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that Zelenskiy "sits in office after duly-conducted elections." When asked about the conflict's origin, Dujarric replied that Russia had invaded Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it "false and dangerous" for Trump to label Zelenskiy as a dictator, according to German newspaper Spiegel.