Volodymyr Zelenskyy Wednesday accused President Trump of living in a “disinformation space” a day after the American leader spouted Kremlin propaganda talking points about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president urged Trump to be “more truthful” following a shocking press conference in which Trump blamed Ukraine for the Russian invasion and suggested he plans to cut a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin whether Zelenskyy likes it or not.
“We have seen this disinformation. We understand that it is coming from Russia,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Trump “lives in this disinformation space.”
As the terms of the Ukraine conflict continued to shift rapidly, White House officials said Trump could meet Putin in the coming days although the Kremlin poured cold water on the idea of a quickie summit to forge a Ukraine peace deal, likely on Russia-friendly terms.
Ahead of talks with visiting U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg, Zelenskyy told reporters Kellogg should walk the streets of Kyiv and question Ukrainians about whether they support the war effort to repel the Russian invasion.
“Ask (Ukrainians) if they trust their president. Do they trust Putin?” Zelenskyy said. “Let him ask about Trump, what they think after the statements (he) made.”
Kellogg said he understood Ukraine would want any peace deal to protect it from the threat of another Russian onslaught.
“We understand the need for security guarantees,” Kellogg said on his arrival at Kyiv’s train station.
Zelenskyy was responding to Trump’s false claim that Kyiv provoked the war, a key Kremlin talking point, and that Ukraine should bow to Russian demands that it cede vast swaths of its territory to buy peace.
Trump also suggested Zelenskyy is an unpopular and corrupt leader, echoing Russian propaganda aimed at undermining the resistance in Kyiv to the invasion Putin launched nearly four years ago.
The back and forth between Trump and Zelenskyy amounts to a remarkable falling out between leaders of two countries that have been staunch allies in recent years.
The Trump administration quickly took steps to distance itself from Kyiv and reach out to Russia. It has made stinging concessions even before any talks begin, including agreeing that Ukraine would have to cede land and taking off the table NATO membership for Kyiv.
The shifting diplomatic ground comes as Ukraine endures more grim news on the battlefield. A relentless onslaught in eastern areas by Russia’s bigger army is grinding down Ukrainian forces, who are slowly but steadily being pushed backward at some points on the 600-mile front line.
Trump has mostly vanquished voices of dissent within the Republican Party, which was once dominated by national security hawks who called for tough stances against Russia.
A few conservatives have spoken out against his coddling of Putin, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who served in Trump’s first administration.
“What madness, what cravenness…is this?” asked conservative pundit John Podhoretz, a speechwriter for late President Ronald Reagan. “Accusing Ukraine of being the aggressor in the most unjustified, pitiless, and brutal war of aggression in our time is an act of infamy almost without parallel.”
