On Tuesday, former President of the U.S., Donald Trump, implied that Ukraine go ahead with the conduct of elections, hinting it might be followed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's ousting.
Trump went on to allege that President Zelenskyy boasts a "4% approval rating," even as independent polls point towards the support base of the Ukrainian leader to remain above 50%.
“We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, essentially martial law in Ukraine,” Trump said at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago after his US delegation finished talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.
“That’s not a Russia thing,” Trump said of wanting elections in Ukraine. “That’s something coming from me and coming from many other countries also, you know, Ukraine is being just wiped out.”
Ukraine was initially set to hold its presidential elections in April 2024, but they were postponed due to the imposition of martial law following Russia’s large-scale invasion in February 2022—the most significant military aggression in Europe since World War II.
In 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argued that conducting elections during wartime would create political divisions at a time when national unity and defense should be the top priorities.
Trump’s remarks about Zelenskyy came amid a U.S. delegation’s meeting with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, where they engaged in a four-and-a-half-hour discussion aimed at pushing for peace negotiations.
Reacting to the talks, Zelenskyy expressed his surprise that Ukraine was not invited, despite enduring nearly three years of war with Russia.
“I would say that, you know, when they want a seat at the table, you could say the people have to, wouldn’t the people of Ukraine have to say, like, you know, it’s been a long time since we’ve had an election,” Trump responded to Ukraine.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russia for trying to include new elections in Ukraine as part of a possible peace agreement, categorically declaring that he would not accept "ultimatums" from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Last week, former U.S. President Donald Trump spoke over the phone with Putin.
After the call, Trump said that although he "likes" Zelenskyy on a personal basis, he doesn't "care about him personally."
“I care about getting the job done. You have leadership now that’s allowed a war to go on that should have never even happened,” Trump said, never mentioning Russia’s role in launching the invasion.
Trump also criticised Zelenskyy for misplacing funds the US has been giving Ukraine throughout the war.
“Where is all the money that’s been given? Where is it going? And nobody, I’ve never seen an accounting of it. We give hundreds of billions of dollars. I don’t see any accounting. So I want to see peace,” Trump said.
Trump also claimed Ukraine was the country that “started” the war with Russia, despite Moscow launching missiles into Ukraine.
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