Trump deepens rift with Ukraine by labelling Zelenskyy 'a dictator'

US president accused of being trapped in Russian disinformation bubble’

- Pjotr Sauer Luke Harding

The US and Ukraine appear to be heading towards an irreconcilable rift after Donald Trump escalated his attacks on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling the Ukrainian president "a dictator" and warning that he "better move fast" or he "won't have a country left".

The US leader's comments yesterday, which were rife with falsehoods, came after Zelenskyy said Trump was "trapped" in a Russian "disinformation bubble" following Trump's claims that Ukraine was to blame for Russia's 2022 invasion, remarks that echoed the Kremlin's narratives.

In a fiery rant on the Truth Social platform marking his most direct threat to end the war on terms that align with Moscow's goals, Trump wrote: "A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left." Trump added that Zelenskyy had "done a terrible job" and accused him - without evidence - of benefiting from continuing US financial and military support, suggesting he had an interest in prolonging the war rather than seeking its end.

Trump called Zelenskyy "a modestly successful comedian" who had "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".

He added: "The only thing he was good at was playing Biden 'like a fiddle'." The unprecedented tensions between Kyiv and Washington come after senior US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine, as well as economic and political cooperation, indicating a fundamental shift in the US approach to Moscow.

Ukraine and Europe were excluded from the talks, increasing fears that Trump could push for a peace deal favouring Vladimir Putin.

"We are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only 'TRUMP' and the Trump Administration, can do," Trump wrote.