Trump Accuses Zelensky of Riding ‘Gravy Train’ as Tensions Rise Between Washington, Kyiv

Calling Ukraine’s president a “dictator without elections” who “probably wants to keep the ‘gravy train’ going,” President Trump escalated his feud with President Zelensky Wednesday, saying he “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.”“Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and ‘TRUMP,’ will never be able to settle,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.Lashing out at Europe, President Biden and Ukraine’s leader at once, Mr. Trump added that he is “successfully negotiating an end to Ukraine’s war with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do.”The statement followed President Zelensky’s accusation earlier in the day that Mr. Trump is living in a “disinformation space” by spreading lies from Russia that include allegations made by Mr. Trump on Tuesday that Ukraine started the war and that Mr. Zelensky is down to a 4-percent approval rating in his own country. “We understand this, and we have evidence that these numbers are being discussed between America and Russia. Unfortunately, President Trump — whom we greatly respect as the leader of a nation we deeply admire — lives in a disinformation space. If someone wants to replace me right now, it’s not going to happen,” Mr. Zelensky said.The Ukrainian president also said he has yet to receive an answer from Washington on his request to increase the number of Patriot missile systems, “despite raising the issue repeatedly.”As the fracas ratches up, Mr. Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday for a meeting with Mr. Zelensky. “We will listen. We are ready to provide what is needed. We understand the need for security guarantees. Part of my mission is to listen. Then I will return to the United States, talk to President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and the rest of the team. Just to ensure we get this right,” Mr. Kellogg said. Mr. Zelensky said that is “important for me that he walks around Kyiv, other cities, and talks to people. Let him ask whether they trust their president, whether they trust Putin, what they think about Trump’s statements.”“Let him ask them about Trump: what they think after comments made by the president,” he continued, adding that he was prepared to “go to the front line” with Mr. Kellogg. Tensions between Ukraine and America reached new heights after top diplomats from Washington and Moscow met in Riyadh on Tuesday to discuss an end to the war. Secretary of State Rubio said that both sides agreed to appoint “high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides.” Mr. Rubio added that “we’re going to need to have vibrant diplomatic missions that are able to function normally in order to be able to continue these conduits.”The Secretary of State commented on criticism leveled at Russia and the U.S. for not inviting Ukraine or European leaders to the meeting at Riyadh, saying “no one is being sidelined.”“During the three years as this conflict has raged, no one has been able to bring something together like what we saw today,” Mr. Rubio said. U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz also attended the meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other Russian officials. Mr. Waltz also pushed back on the criticism from EU and Ukraine, saying “We are absolutely talking to both sides. The facts will continue to push back on this notion that our allies haven’t been consulted. They are being consulted, literally, almost on a daily basis, and we’ll continue to do so.”Mr. Zelensky, meanwhile, lashed out at America and Russia for its “infamous meeting” at Riyadh which excluded Kyiv from the talks. “We have to remember that Russia is run by pathological liars, and they cannot be trusted — they must be pressured for peace,” Mr. Zelensky said. Mr. Zelensky also demanded that “Ukraine, Europe in a broad sense — and this includes the European Union, Turkey, and the UK — should be involved in conversations and the development of the necessary security guarantees with America regarding the fate of our part of the world.”Mr. Trump, meanwhile, came under fire after accusing Ukraine of starting the war with Russia three years ago. Speaking to reporters from his home in Florida, Mr. Trump said he believes he has the power to end the war and that negotiations between America and Russia are “going well.”“But today I heard, ‘Oh well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should’ve ended it after three years. You should’ve never started it. You could’ve made a deal,” Mr. Trump said at Mar-a-Lago in a reference to Ukraine. “Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the savage barbarism,” Mr. Trump added.

Trump Accuses Zelensky of Riding ‘Gravy Train’ as Tensions Rise Between Washington, Kyiv

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