President Donald Trump once again attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday after the Ukrainian leader suggested the end of its war with Russia remains “very, very far away.”
Trump made the statement on social media, reacting to news reports of Zelenskyy’s comments. The White House has said it wants a public apology from Zelenskyy for a contentious meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Friday.
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer! It is what I was saying. This guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing,” Trump wrote.
“Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?” he added.
Trump’s statement comes after Zelenskyy met with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, among other European leaders.
Ukraine’s leader had been scheduled to visit the White House last week to sign a rare earth minerals agreement with the Trump administration, but he was kicked out before signing the deal. While Zelenskyy says he is still willing to sign the deal, Trump’s White House says they now expect a public apology.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called on the Ukrainian leader to resign on Sunday.
“He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change,” Graham said after Friday’s meeting.
Zelenskyy retorted that Graham could weigh in on Ukrainian leadership when he became a Ukrainian citizen, to which Graham responded: “Unfortunately, until there is an election, no one has a voice in Ukraine.”
According to the senator, he doesn’t think Americans see the Ukrainian president as someone they feel comfortable going “into business with” following the televised dispute.
Graham also stressed that the Ukrainian-American relationship is “vitally important.” However, he cast doubt on whether Zelenskyy could ever “do a deal with the United States.”
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