Zelensky says Trump is in ‘disinformation’ bubble on Ukraine, urges ‘more truth’
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) said US President Donald Trump’s assertion that his approval rating was just 4 per cent was Russian disinformation.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hit back on Feb 18 at Mr Donald Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine was responsible for Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, saying the US President was trapped in a Russian disinformation bubble.
Speaking ahead of talks with Mr Trump’s Ukraine envoy a day after the US President said Ukraine “should never have started” the conflict, Mr Zelensky said he would like Mr Trump’s team to have “more truth” about Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader said Mr Trump’s assertion that his approval rating was just 4 per cent was Russian disinformation, and that any attempt to replace him would fail.
“We have evidence that these figures are being discussed between America and Russia. That is, President Trump… unfortunately lives in this disinformation space,” Mr Zelensky told Ukrainian TV.
Less than a month into his presidency, Mr Trump has upended US policy
Mr Trump said he may meet Mr Putin in February.
The Kremlin said such a meeting could take longer to prepare, but Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said it expected a number of US companies to return to Russia as early as the second quarter.
The talks, on ending the war in Ukraine, have excluded both Ukraine and Europe, which Mr Trump says must step up to guarantee any ceasefire.
Mr Zelensky has suggested giving US companies the right to extract valuable minerals in Ukraine in return for US security guarantees but indicated Mr Trump is not offering that.
Not selling his country
Mr Zelensky said at a news conference the US gave Ukraine US$67 billion (S$90 billion) in weapons and US$31.5 billion in budget support, and that American demands for US$500 billion in minerals are “not a serious conversation”, and that he could not sell his country.
He was expected to meet visiting US Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg, who said as he arrived in Kyiv that he expected substantial talks as the war approaches its three-year mark.
“We understand the need for security guarantees,” Mr Kellogg told journalists, saying that part of his mission would be “to sit and listen”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lauded Mr Trump for saying that previous US support of Ukraine’s bid to join the Nato military alliance was a major cause of the war in Ukraine.
Mr Trump’s US policy reversal puts it at odds with allies in the 27-member European Union, whose envoys on Feb 19 agreed on a 16th package of sanctions against Russia, including on aluminium and vessels believed to be carrying sanctioned Russian oil.
France said it did not understand the logic
French President Emmanuel Macron was set to have an informal meeting on Ukraine with some European leaders and Nato ally Canada, following a similar meeting with Britain, Italy, Germany, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and the European Union on Feb 17.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said while there was no complete agreement in the 27-nation EU on how to move forward, countries have managed to accomplish a lot.
“We need to keep a cool head and continue to support Ukraine,” he said.
Russia has seized control of around a fifth of Ukraine, and regularly launches attacks on towns and cities far beyond the 1,000km front line across the country’s east and south, where it is pushing hard to gain more territory.
Mr Zelensky said Russia launched a barrage of drones on the southern city of Odesa on Feb 19, injuring four people, including a child, and hitting energy infrastructure. At least 160,000 people were left without heating in sub-zero temperatures, he said.
Russia says its attacks on Ukraine’s energy system are designed to undermine the country’s military. It says it does not deliberately target civilians, although thousands have been killed in the conflict.
In the village of Novopavlivkia near the front line, homes scarred by guided bombs line once-quiet streets that now serve as key routes for Ukrainian armoured vehicles. Helicopters buzz low overhead, and a constant din of explosions and heavy machine gun fire can be heard.
Former village head Mykola Havrylov said he was dismayed that Ukraine’s Western partners have not provided more urgent military and diplomatic support as the Russians close in.
“I don’t understand it, and I think I’m not the only one,” he said. REUTERS
