Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, said his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump lives in a Russian disinformation space, after the latter made unsubstantiated claims on Zelenskyy’s popularity with his own people, and the apparent level of U.S. funding.
Trump said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian president had an approval rating of just 4% of the people.
Speaking to the press the following day, Zelenskyy said that “we’ve seen this disinformation, we understand that it is coming from Russia,” Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform reported.
He said: “We understand this and we have evidence that these figures are being discussed between America and Russia.
“Unfortunately, President Trump, whom we have great respect for as a leader of the American people, whom we greatly respect and who constantly supports us, lives in this disinformation space.”
Speaking to the press the following day, Zelenskyy said that “we’ve seen this disinformation, we understand that it is coming from Russia,” Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform reported.
He said: “We understand this and we have evidence that these figures are being discussed between America and Russia.
“Unfortunately, President Trump, whom we have great respect for as a leader of the American people, whom we greatly respect and who constantly supports us, lives in this disinformation space.”
How much support does Zelenskyy actually have?
“If someone wants to replace me right now, that won’t happen,” Zelenskyy said during the same Wednesday press conference. He also promised to soon release official polling data on public trust in various Ukrainian politicians.
One opinion poll, which has already been released, has found that 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskyy, a slight improvement compared to previous months.
In contrast, 37% of respondents expressed distrust in Zelenskyy, resulting in a 20% spread between trust and distrust.
The survey was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) between February 4 and February 9, using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) with a random sample of 1,000 mobile phone users aged 18 and older residing in areas controlled by Ukraine.
While the survey was conducted under wartime conditions, KIIS believes the results remain highly representative of the actual public sentiment.
Zelenskyy also took aim at comments Trump made on the level of U.S. funding for Ukraine. The American president said that the country had received $350 billion and that he had “not seen any accounting.”
Responding, Zelenskyy said: "We have a very clear situation. The war has cost us $320 billion: $120 billion of that comes from us, the people of Ukraine, the taxpayers, and $200 billion from the United States and the European Union. This is the cost of weapons. This is the weapons package -- $320 billion."
The U.S., he added, has allocated $67 billion in security assistance and $31.5 billion as direct financial assistance to the Ukrainian budget.
One opinion poll, which has already been released, has found that 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskyy, a slight improvement compared to previous months.
In contrast, 37% of respondents expressed distrust in Zelenskyy, resulting in a 20% spread between trust and distrust.
The survey was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) between February 4 and February 9, using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) with a random sample of 1,000 mobile phone users aged 18 and older residing in areas controlled by Ukraine.
While the survey was conducted under wartime conditions, KIIS believes the results remain highly representative of the actual public sentiment.
Funding claims
Zelenskyy also took aim at comments Trump made on the level of U.S. funding for Ukraine. The American president said that the country had received $350 billion and that he had “not seen any accounting.”
Responding, Zelenskyy said: "We have a very clear situation. The war has cost us $320 billion: $120 billion of that comes from us, the people of Ukraine, the taxpayers, and $200 billion from the United States and the European Union. This is the cost of weapons. This is the weapons package -- $320 billion."
The U.S., he added, has allocated $67 billion in security assistance and $31.5 billion as direct financial assistance to the Ukrainian budget.
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