The relationship between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains strained, drawing widespread attention. Allies on both sides are watching to see if this dispute will stifle any hope of U.S.-brokered peace or, conversely, help advance the peace process.
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04-01, 2025Trump has taken to social media platforms to issue scathing remarks, accusing Zelenskyy of being an "unelected dictator" and blaming him for forcing the U.S. to spend hundreds of billions of dollars "on a war that can’t be won." He repeated these accusations during a speech in Miami, stating, "Zelenskyy had better get moving, or he’s going to lose his country."
Trump's rhetoric echoes Moscow's talking points, casting aspersions on Ukraine and its president. Zelenskyy declared martial law at the onset of the Russian invasion, leading to the postponement of scheduled elections. For years, Trump has been skeptical of Zelenskyy, questioning his decisions and, during his first impeachment, pressuring him to investigate then-rival Joe Biden.
Trump has combined his criticisms of both Biden and Zelenskyy, suggesting that Zelenskyy has "made a fortune" off of U.S. aid during Biden's administration. He also stated that if the Biden administration were to remain in power for another year, the U.S. could be embroiled in World War III, whereas this would not happen under his leadership.
Meanwhile, Trump's aides have been closely monitoring Zelenskyy's public statements, growing increasingly uneasy, especially regarding his criticism of the U.S. excluding Ukraine from talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia. Sources say their discontent had been building before Wednesday, but it fully erupted after Zelenskyy’s office in Kyiv told reporters that Trump lives in a “world of false information.”
An official traveling with Trump said that Trump privately told his aides in Florida that he wanted to respond directly, which led to his posts on Truth Social. He made the remarks en route to his golf club in Miami and further elaborated on his views before hundreds of attendees at an investment conference in Miami sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
One White House official stated: "It's frustrating. There's a strong and reasonable feeling that this brutal war has to end, and Zelenskyy's public statements are undermining that path." These remarks highlight the delicate balance between supporting Ukraine and seeking a resolution to the conflict.
However, from Zelenskyy's perspective, the way Trump envisions ending the war closely resembles Russia's demands. Members of Trump's administration have ruled out the possibility of Kyiv joining NATO and have indicated that U.S. troops would not help secure Ukraine after the war ends. Therefore, he feels compelled to speak out.
For months, Zelenskyy has been careful to avoid a complete break with Washington's temperamental potential partner. He arranged a meeting in the weeks before last year’s election in an effort to allay the then-Republican presidential candidate’s doubts about U.S. involvement in the war.
At the start of talks at Trump Tower in Manhattan, the pair appeared together, signaling their willingness to be amicable. Trump stated that he maintained a "very good relationship" with the Ukrainian leader, but he also had a "very good relationship" with his adversary in Moscow, Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy interjected: "I wish we have more good relations." Trump replied: "But, you know, it takes two to tango." This exchange highlighted the complexities of navigating relationships with both Ukraine and Russia.
At the time, the exchange drew little notice. Five months later, it appears to foreshadow an extraordinary rift emerging as Trump prepares to meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia. This underscores the evolving dynamics of international relations.
Trump's mood swings are nothing new to many foreign leaders. During his first term, they led to canceled overseas trips, abruptly ended phone calls, and the imposition of sweeping new tariffs. However, so far, Trump's discontent does not appear to portend such a sweeping shift in U.S. foreign policy as a move away from a longtime American ally in Europe and toward the Kremlin.
Many of Trump's allies say Zelenskyy should have anticipated Trump's anger. "Zelenskyy trying to change the President's mind by trashing him in the public media, anyone who knows the President would tell you that's a terrible way to deal with this administration," Vance told the Daily Mail.
In explaining Trump's striking public pronouncements, White House officials insist his primary – indeed, his only – objective is to end Ukraine's three-year-old conflict, which he believes was badly misjudged by the previous administration. They say that a war settlement should have been reached long ago, after years of protracted conflict. Trump himself appears to hold an almost agnostic view of the precise contours of a war-ending settlement.
"I don't care so much about anything else, I just want to stop the killing of millions of people," he said last week. This statement underscores his focus on ending the human cost of the conflict.
However, it is unclear how he intends to achieve that goal while simultaneously denouncing Zelenskyy and aligning himself with Russian rhetoric. Trump’s Republican allies in Washington suggested on Wednesday that the president may have a grand plan.
Asked if he was concerned about the president’s remarks about Ukraine, Senate Minority Leader John Thune said: “I’m for an outcome in Ukraine that results in peace.” Thune said he believed Trump and his team were working toward peace, “and right now, you have to give them some space.”
Sen. Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, said Trump “is always setting something up,” adding that he suspected Trump may be “setting up a negotiation with Putin” through his comments about Zelenskyy. This suggests a strategic motive behind Trump's seemingly erratic statements.
Nonetheless, any negotiated end to the conflict would require Zelenskyy’s buy-in to be successful. And if he truly wants to keep U.S. troops out of the conflict, he will need European allies to step up their peacekeeping forces – a step some nations have already offered.
Some Trump advisers and allies do see strategy in the bluster. One Trump loyalist who spoke with Trump in Florida said that one reason Trump is hammering Ukraine is to scare Europe into ponying up more money to defend Ukraine.
"Look, there's method to this madness," the person said, pointing to a report of Denmark pledging to increase its arms spending. This perspective suggests that Trump's actions are calculated to achieve specific outcomes.
A Trump adviser echoed the same sentiment on Wednesday, telling CNN: “If the rest of Europe had half the reaction of Denmark, it would be a huge win.” This highlights the desire for increased European involvement in the conflict.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushed back on much of Trump's claims on X, but said his predecessor was pushing a larger point. Johnson had a close relationship with Trump during his first term. "When are we Europeans going to stop being shocked by Donald Trump and start helping him to get this war finished?" Johnson wrote.
"Of course Ukraine didn't start the war. You might as well say that America attacked Japan at Pearl Harbor." "Of course a country that is being violently invaded shouldn't hold elections. Britain didn't have a general election from 1935 to 1945. Of course Zelenskyy's approval ratings aren't 4 per cent. They are in fact about the same as Trump's."
"Trump's statements are not designed to be historically accurate, but to shock the Europeans into action." This interpretation suggests that Trump's statements are a means to an end.
Indeed, French President Emmanuel Macron's hastily arranged meeting of European leaders in Paris this week suggests that Trump's words are being taken very seriously. "There is a threat to the existence of Europeans from Russia," Macron said in an interview with a French regional newspaper. "Don't think that the unthinkable can't happen, including the worst."
At the same time, Macron has not entirely given up on Trump. He is due in Washington for meetings next week, as is British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has indicated a willingness to send troops as peacekeepers to Ukraine.
Both men spoke with Zelenskyy on Wednesday, after Trump made his insulting remarks. "The Prime Minister expressed his support for President Zelenskyy as the democratically elected leader of Ukraine and said it was entirely reasonable to pause elections during wartime, as Britain did in the Second World War," Downing Street later said.
Trump is increasingly positioning himself in the role of peacemaker – no matter the cost – disregarding the fracturing of Western alliances and the subversion of American foreign policy.
"We are successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia, everyone acknowledges that only Trump can do that," Trump said on Wednesday night, referring to himself in the third person again and again. "In the Trump Administration, we will be able to get that done. I think Putin even acknowledges that."
