After U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, U.S. President Donald Trump falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the war.
According to BBC, on Tuesday, February 19, 2025, the U.S. president, while speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, claimed that he has the “power” to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
When asked about Ukraine, which felt “disappointed” after being excluded from the negotiations, he said: “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.”
Furthermore, Trump hinted at meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he will “probably” meet him later in February.
The Republican president also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stating that he is demanding a seat at the negotiation table while denying his people the right to vote by not holding elections in the country.
The 78-year-old argued: “We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine, I mean, I hate to say it, but he’s down at a 4% approval rating, and where a country has been blown to smithereens. Most of the cities are lying on their sides. The buildings collapsed. It looks like a massive demolition site.”
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy, in an interview with German public broadcaster ARD, stated that he became the leader of Ukraine because 73% of the people voted for him, and the majority still supports him. He called himself a “patriot” who is defending his country.
For context, Zelenskyy was elected as Ukraine’s president in 2019 for a five-year term but remains in office due to martial law in the country.
