Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is counting on Ukrainian unity, European support and American “pragmatism” in the fight for Ukraine’s future—but did not mention Donald Trump by name in his nightly address, hours after the U.S. president called him a “dictator.”
Ukraine’s European allies rallied around the war-torn country’s leader following Trump’s unprecedented broadside on his social media feed on Wednesday, in which he questioned Zelenskyy’s legitimacy and apportioned some blame for the conflict on Kyiv.
The attack marked a widening rift between the two presidents following the U.S.’s decision to open direct talks with Russia over ending the war, without inviting Ukraine. Zelenskyy had previously said that Trump lived in a pro-Kremlin “disinformation bubble.”
Diplomatic efforts continue, however: Zelenskyy is set to meet Trump’s envoy to the conflict zone, Keith Kellogg, in Kyiv on Thursday and said that “it is crucial for us that this meeting—and overall cooperation with America—be constructive.”
‘America needs Ukraine’s success like we do’
With the new American administration seemingly distancing itself from the Ukrainian cause, Zelenskyy has asked his allies in Europe to step up, calling for a European army to be formed as well as quick Ukrainian accession to the European Union.
In his Wednesday evening address from his presidential office, he emphasized that his own country, as well as Europe, needed to be united at this crossroads in the conflict, and reiterated that a strong Ukraine was in U.S. interests.
“We are standing strong on our own two feet,” he said. “I am counting on Ukrainian unity, our courage ... on the unity of Europe and the pragmatism of America. Because America needs success just as much as we do.
“Together with America and Europe, peace can be more secure and this is our goal. Success brings us together. Our unity is the strongest safeguard of our future. A future without [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, but with peace.”
While Zelenskyy did not directly address Trump’s social media outburst, the U.S. president doubled down on his comments in an event in Florida a few hours later. He told journalists that the Ukrainian leader had done a terrible job and could have come to talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia if he had wanted to, Reuters reported.
Allies back democratically elected Zelenskyy
In questioning Zelenskyy’s legitimacy and calling him a “dictator without elections,” Trump has reiterated a talking point consistently raised by Russia in recent months.
Zelenskyy’s presidential term came to an end in 2024, but elections are forbidden under martial law and the Ukrainian parliament has backed a motion to delay any ballot until the war comes to an end.
Allies have now come to Zelenskyy’s support.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had spoken to the Ukrainian president on Wednesday, whom he described as a “democratically elected leader.”
The BBC reported that Starmer told Zelenskyy that it was “perfectly reasonable” for Ukraine to “suspend elections during wartime as the U.K. did during World War II.”
Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said Trump’s comments were “false and dangerous,” German newspaper Der Spiegel reported, while a spokesperson for the United Nations noted that Zelenskyy “sits in office after duly-held elections.”
A potential rival for Zelenskyy’s position as head of state, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, now the country’s ambassador to the U.K., told Ukrainian media that this was not the time to talk about elections.
Tusk warns of ‘forced capitulation’
Meanwhile, Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, commented on the change in American attitudes and what it may mean.
“A forced capitulation of Ukraine would mean a capitulation of the whole community of the West. With all the consequences of this fact. And let no-one pretend that they don’t see this,” he wrote on social media platform, X.
Trump’s vice president—who recently launched a scathing attack on European countries during the Munich Security Conference—reportedly told insiders that Zelenskyy should refrain from “badmouthing” Trump.
“Everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration,” JD Vance said in his West Wing office, Britain’s Daily Mail reported.
