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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke out for the first time since President Donald Trump smeared him as a “Dictator” responsible for the deaths of “MILLIONS” on Wednesday afternoon, urging the world not to be deceived by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

Earlier in the day, Trump followed up critical comments he directed toward Zelensky on Tuesday in a falsehood-laden rant on Truth Social that saw him lob a number of accusations at the Ukrainian leader.

“Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and ‘TRUMP,’ will never be able to settle,” wrote Trump.

“Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is ‘MISSING.’ 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.’ A

Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.” he continued. “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. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the ‘gravy train’ going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues…..”

Zelensky did not directly respond to Trump, but did seem to contest some of his premises in a post on X that referenced retired Lt. General Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.

“I had a good and substantive conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
@SecGenNATO. I shared details of my meeting with President Erdoğan, where we discussed Türkiye’s role in providing security guarantees. Ukraine needs broad representation from countries: Europe, including the UK and Türkiye, and the U.S., in this process,” wrote Zelensky.

He continued:

Mark informed me about his meeting with General Kellogg. The key messages align with our goal of achieving guaranteed peace, not just a temporary ceasefire. There must be confidence that in a few months or years, Putin won’t return with his war.We also discussed our future contacts with partners and coordinated our next steps. We cannot allow

Putin to deceive everyone again. Before any potential negotiations, all partners must clearly understand that strong security guarantees are the priority for lasting peace.

Trump’s attacks on Zelensky have been roundly criticized by voices on both the right and left, who have pointed out that it was Putin who started the war between Russia and Ukraine as well as rules his country as a despot.

Tags: Donald Trump, Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky