Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to reporters in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House, following a meeting with President Donald Trump on October 17, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

The European Union insists that both Ukraine and Europe must have a say during any negotiations. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The European Union on Thursday (February 20, 2025) hit back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s accusation that Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a “dictator”.

Mr. Trump lashed out at Mr. Zelenskyy in a spiralling row after Washington launched peace efforts with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Kremlin’s three-year war.

“We have a fairly straightforward and clear position on this: President Zelenskyy was legitimately elected in free, fair and democratic elections,” EU spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker told journalists.

“Ukraine is a democracy, Putin’s Russia is not,” he said.

Mr. Trump’s broadsides against the Ukrainian leader have fuelled fears in Europe that Washington is abandoning its ally in Kyiv to secure a quick deal with Moscow.

The EU insists that both Ukraine and Europe must have a say during any negotiations.

“There can be no solution for Ukraine without the involvement of Ukraine, nor without the involvement of the European Union,” Mr. Keersmaecker said.

“Ukraine’s security is the European Union’s security,” he added.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gives a press conference in Kyiv on February 19, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday (February 19, 2025) that U.S. President Donald Trump is living in a Russian-made “disinformation space” as a result of his administration’s discussions with Kremlin officials.

Mr. Zelenskyy said he “would like Trump’s team to be more truthful.”

He made the comments shortly before he was expected to meet with Gen. (retd) Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, who arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday (February 19, 2025). Gen. Kellogg will meet Mr. Zelenskyy and military commanders as the U.S. shifts its policy away from years of efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Mr. Trump suggested Tuesday (February 18, 2025) that Kyiv was to blame for the war, which enters its fourth year next week, as talks between top American and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia sidelined Ukraine and its European supporters.

French President Emmanuel Macron was to hold a videoconference on Ukraine later Wednesday (February 19, 2025) with leaders of over 15 countries, mostly European nations, “with the aim of gathering all partners interested in peace and security” on the continent, his office said.

Key European leaders held an emergency meeting in Paris on Monday (February 17, 2025) after they felt they had been sidelined by the Trump administration.

Also Read | European leaders differ on peacekeeping in post-war Ukraine

Mr. Trump’s comments are likely to vex Ukrainian officials, who have urged the world to help them fight Russia’s full-scale invasion that began February 24, 2022.

Mr. Trump also said at Mar-a-Lago that Mr. Zelenskyy’s rating stood at 4%.

Mr. Zelenskyy replied in a news conference in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv that “we have seen this disinformation. We understand that it is coming from Russia.” He said that Mr. Trump “lives in this disinformation space.”

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Mr. Trump also suggested Ukraine ought to hold elections, which have been postponed due to the war and the consequent imposition of martial law, in accordance with the Ukrainian Constitution.

Mr. Zelenskyy questioned claims, which he didn’t specify, that 90% of all aid received by Ukraine comes from the United States.

He said that, for instance, about 34% of all weapons in Ukraine are domestically produced, over 30% of support comes from Europe, and up to 40% from the U.S.

Also Read | Moscow turns to its schools, teaching children to revere Army amid war

The battlefield has also brought grim news for Ukraine in recent months. A relentless onslaught in eastern areas by Russia’s bigger army is grinding down Ukrainian forces, which are slowly but steadily being pushed backward at some points on the 1,000-kilometer front line.

Mr. Trump told reporters at his Florida residence Tuesday (February 18, 2025) that Ukraine “should have never started” the war and “could have made a deal” to prevent it.

Gen. Kellogg said his visit to Kyiv was “a chance to have some good, substantial talks.” Mr. Zelenskyy was due to travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday (February 19, 2025) but cancelled his trip in what some analysts saw as an attempt to deny legitimacy to the U.S.-Russia talks about the future of his country.

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American officials have signalled that Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO in order to ward off Russian aggression after reaching a possible peace agreement won’t happen. Mr. Zelenskyy says any settlement will require U.S. security commitments to keep Russia at bay.

“We understand the need for security guarantees,” Gen. Kellogg said in comments carried by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne Novyny on his arrival at Kyiv train station.

“It’s very clear to us the importance of the sovereignty of this nation and the independence of this nation as well… Part of my mission is to sit and listen,” the retired three-star general said.

Gen. Kellogg said he would convey what he learns on his visit to Mr. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “and ensure that we get this one right.”