Trump Tells 'Dictator' Zelensky to Move Fast or Lose Ukraine

WASHINGTON/KYIV (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "dictator" on Wednesday 19 February 2025 and warned he had to move quickly to secure peace or risk losing his country, deepening a feud between the two leaders that has alarmed European officials.

The extraordinary attacks - a day after Trump claimed Ukraine was to blame for Russia's 2022 invasion - heightened concerns among US allies in Europe that Trump's approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict could benefit Moscow.

Less than a month into his presidency, Trump has upended US policy on the war, ending a campaign to isolate Russia with a Trump-Putin phone call and talks between senior US and Russian officials that have sidelined Ukraine.

"A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left," Trump wrote on social media, using an alternate spelling for the Ukrainian president's name.

In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said no one could force his country to give in.

"We will defend our right to exist," Sybiha said on X.

Later in the day while speaking to investors and executives in Miami, Trump doubled down on his comments, again calling Zelensky a "dictator" and suggesting the Ukrainian president wanted to prolong the war to "keep the gravy train going," a reference to US military aid.

Zelensky's five-year term was supposed to end in 2024, but elections cannot be held under martial law, which Ukraine imposed in February 2022 in response to Russia's invasion.

Trump's outburst followed Zelensky's comments on Tuesday 18 February 2025 that the US president was parroting Russian disinformation when he asserted that Ukraine "should never have started" the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion three years ago.

US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday warned Zelensky against "badmouthing" Trump.

"Everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration," Vance said in his West Wing office, the Daily Mail reported.

Russia has seized some 20% of Ukraine and is slowly but steadily gaining territory in the east. Moscow said its "special military operation" responded to an existential threat posed by Kyiv's pursuit of NATO membership. Ukraine and the West call Russia's action an imperialist land grab.

The Ukrainian leader said Trump's assertion that his approval rating was just 4% was Russian disinformation and that any attempt to replace him would fail.

"We have evidence that these figures are being discussed between America and Russia. That is, President Trump [...] unfortunately lives in this disinformation space," Zelensky told Ukrainian TV.

The latest poll from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, from early February, found 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelensky.

Following Trump's latest remarks, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Zelensky "sits in office after duly-held elections". When asked who started the war, Dujarric responded that Russia had invaded Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was "false and dangerous" for Trump to call Zelensky a dictator, German newspaper Spiegel reported.

US security ally Australia, which has provided A$1.5 billion in support to Ukraine in its war with Russia, rejected Trump's assertions about Ukraine.

Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles said "the war in Ukraine must be resolved on Ukraine's terms, because the aggressor here is Russia". The country's opposition leader Peter Dutton said bluntly: "I think President Trump has got it wrong".

"Australia should stand strong and proud with the people of Ukraine. It's a democracy, and this is a fight for civilisation. Vladimir Putin is a murderous dictator, and we shouldn’t be giving him an inch," said Dutton.

A few of Trump's fellow Republicans in Congress said they disagreed that Zelensky was a dictator and that Ukraine bore responsibility for Russia's invasion. But they stopped short of criticising Trump directly, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune - a longtime supporter of Ukraine - saying Trump needed "space" to work on a peace deal.

Europe left scrambling

Zelensky has suggested giving US companies the right to extract valuable minerals in Ukraine in return for US security guarantees.

He rejected a US proposal last week that would have seen Washington receiving 50% of Ukraine's critical minerals, including lithium, a key component in electric car batteries. Zelensky told reporters on Wednesday that the deal was too focused on US interests, saying: "I can't sell our country."

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, Trump claimed that Ukraine had "more or less" agreed to the proposal and complained that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was treated "rather rudely" while visiting Kyiv. He said he would seek to resurrect the minerals deal.

European officials have been left shocked and flat-footed by the Trump administration's Ukraine moves in recent days.

At a second meeting of European leaders in Paris, hastily arranged by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier in the day, there were more calls for immediate action to support Ukraine and bolster Europe's defense capabilities, but few concrete decisions.

Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will visit Washington next week, according to White House national security adviser Mike Waltz.

Following Trump's latest attacks, Zelensky discussed approaches to a peace settlement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Macron and Starmer, including the importance of security guarantees.

Starmer expressed support for Zelensky as Ukraine's democratically elected leader, Starmer's office said on Wednesday.

Keith Kellogg, the US Ukraine envoy, traveled to Kyiv on Wednesday to meet with Zelensky and said as he arrived that he understood "the need for security guarantees," adding that part of his mission would be "to sit and listen".

The 27-member European Union on Wednesday agreed on a sixteenth package of sanctions against Russia, including on aluminium and vessels believed to be carrying sanctioned Russian oil.

Trump said he may meet Putin this month. In Moscow, Putin said that Ukraine would not be barred from peace negotiations, but success would depend on raising the level of trust between Moscow and Washington.

Putin, speaking a day after Russia and the US met in Riyadh to hold their first talks on how to end the conflict, also said it would take time to set up a summit with Trump, which both men have said they want.

Ukraine and European governments were not invited to Tuesday's talks in the Saudi capital, which magnified their concern that Russia and the US might cut a deal that ignores their vital security interests.

Ukraine was counting on "the unity of Europe and the pragmatism of America", Zelensky said in a video address on Wednesday.

Trump says Europe must step up to guarantee any ceasefire deal.