US president Donald Trump sparked fury after branding the Ukrainian leader a “dictator without elections”, adding that Kyiv had started the war
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and spoke to Volodymyr Zelensky after Donald Trump’s remarks (Image: AP)
Sir Keir Starmer told Volodymyr Zelensky it was “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections” during Vladimir Putin’s bloodthirsty invasion of Ukraine.
US president Donald Trump sparked fury after branding the Ukrainian leader a “dictator without elections”, claiming Kyiv had started the war.
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Mr Trump added that the Ukrainian leader had done a “terrible job”, saying he needed to “move fast or he is not going to have a country left”.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister spoke to President Zelensky this evening and stressed the need for everyone to work together.
Keir Starmer delivers speech after emergency talks in Paris
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump have been locked in a war of words (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“The Prime Minister expressed his support for President Zelensky as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader and said that it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during wartime, as the UK did during World War 2.
“The Prime Minister reiterated his support for the US-led efforts to get a lasting peace in Ukraine that deterred Russia from any future aggression.”
Mr Trump’s comments have provoked a furious backlash, with politicians and military experts warning of “dangerous days” ahead.
A former head of the British Army, Lord Dannatt, warned: “Trump and Putin are trying to bully Zelensky into having an election in order to install a pro-Moscow president.”
John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, said: “Trump’s characterisations of Zelensky and Ukraine are some of the most shameful remarks ever made by a US president.
“Our support of Ukraine has never been about charity – our way of life at home depends on our strength abroad.”
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of playing former US president Joe Biden “like a fiddle”.
“He refuses to have elections, is very low in Ukrainian polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden ‘like a fiddle’,” Mr Trump said.
“A dictator without elections, Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.
“In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia, something all admit only ‘Trump’, and the Trump administration can do.”
Mr Trump also said Europe “has failed to bring peace”.
Mr Zelensky was elected as president of Ukraine in May 2019. Elections were previously scheduled for 2024, but they were not held as a result of martial law being in place.
Former foreign secretary James Cleverly said: “The USA is a friend and ally. But we must be honest and courageous when we disagree.
“President Trump is wrong about President Zelensky and Ukraine and the Foreign Secretary should say so, his silence is deafening.
“The UK and USA must send the message that we don’t let tyrants win.”
Bob Seely, a former member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said: “What Trump said is untrue, and frankly he is just repeating Russian dictator Putin’s lines.
“Trump seems to be psychologically under Putin’s influence. Why? This is a disaster for the UK, for Europe, for Ukraine and the US. Much more of this and Trump is going to destroy US moral and political leadership in place for the last 70 years.
“Ever since World War 2, the Russians (and now with Chinese support) have tried to break the link between the US and Europe. If this happens the Ukraine war will widen. Putin will attack NATO states in the Baltic. These are dangerous days.”
Tory MP Simon Hoare said: “Let’s say it unambiguously: Trump is an egotistical stranger to the truth and ignorant of history.
“He’s a menace to the world order. Ukraine was attacked. If Russia wants peace: put your guns down Putin and withdraw.
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“The wider NATO family must end its addiction to US defence dollars now.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “President Zelensky is not a dictator. He is the democratically elected leader of Ukraine who bravely stood up to Putin’s illegal invasion.
“Under my leadership, and under successive Conservative prime ministers, we have and always will stand with Ukraine.
“President Trump is right that Europe needs to pull its weight – and that includes the UK.
“We need to get serious.
“The PM will have my support to increase defence spending – there is a fully funded plan to get to 2.5% sitting on his desk.
“That should be the bare minimum. Starmer should get on with it, get on a plane to Washington and show some leadership. We cannot afford to get this wrong.”
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Mr Zelensky accused the US president of being “trapped” in a Russian “disinformation bubble” after the billionaire suggested Ukraine was to blame for Moscow’s invasion of the country.
The Ukrainian president also said he would not “sell” his nation following talks between Russia and the US to broker a peace deal without Ukraine present.
Ex-prime minister Boris Johnson, an ardent supporter of Kyiv, called on Europe to “get serious” about supporting the war-torn country amid two crisis meetings this week in Paris.
