United States President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s handling of the ongoing war with Russia, saying he was “not happy” with the course of the conflict and that the Ukrainian leader had not done “the greatest job”.
Addressing a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House, Trump was asked whether he held Zelenskyy responsible for the conflict with Moscow. “I don’t hold Zelenskyy responsible, but I’m not exactly thrilled with the fact that that war started,” he said. “So I’m not happy with him. And I’m not happy with anybody involved.”
Trump, who has frequently claimed that the war would not have broken out had he remained in office instead of Democrat Joe Biden, took an indirect swipe at Zelenskyy, citing Russia’s overwhelming military superiority. “If you’re smart, you don’t get involved in wars… I’m not blaming him, but what I am saying is that I wouldn’t say he’s done the greatest job, OK? I am not a big fan,” he said.
Although Trump has occasionally criticised Russia, he has continued to suggest that Zelenskyy failed to secure a peace deal with the Kremlin. Earlier this week, the Republican leader remarked, “You don’t start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles to win it.”
During a tense exchange at the White House in February, Trump and Vice-President JD Vance had publicly chastised Zelenskyy, accusing him of showing ingratitude for American military and financial aid and “gambling with World War III.”
The Trump administration has since maintained that it is seeking to negotiate a ceasefire “as soon as possible” and finalise a deal to extract profits from Ukraine’s mineral reserves. However, Trump has declined to offer any firm security assurances to Kiev.
This week, Vance dismissed Zelenskyy’s concerns over the administration’s stance, saying the Ukrainian president’s claims that Trump was pushing a pro-Russian agenda were “absurd”.
In a sharp retort, Zelenskyy on Thursday directly accused the US envoy to Ukraine, Steve Witkoff, of amplifying Kremlin-aligned viewpoints. “I believe Witkoff has adopted the strategy of the Russian side,” Zelenskyy said. “I think this is very dangerous, as he is—wittingly or unwittingly—spreading Russian narratives.”
He added that Witkoff had no authority to discuss possible changes to Ukraine’s territorial integrity. “That’s why I don’t really understand what he’s saying. We’ve heard this before—this is Putin’s nonsense. I didn’t expect that he would have certain people in civilised countries repeating these narratives. That’s why I don’t take this seriously,” he said.
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