Trump warns 'dictator' Zelenskyy to act quickly or risk losing Ukraine

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian Zelenskyy
Photo: Sky News

US President Donald Trump denounced Ukrainian Zelenskyy as a "dictator" and warned he had to move quickly to secure peace or risk losing his country, deepening a feud between the two leaders that has alarmed European officials.

The extraordinary attacks – a day after Trump claimed Ukraine was to blame for Russia's 2022 invasion – heightened concerns among U.S. allies in Europe that Trump's approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict could benefit Moscow.

Less than a month into his presidency, Trump has upended U.S. policy on the war, ending a campaign to isolate Russia with a Trump-Putin phone call and talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials that have sidelined Ukraine.

"A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left," Trump wrote on social media, using an alternate spelling for the Ukrainian president's name.

Zelenskyy's five-year term was supposed to end in 2024, but presidential and parliamentary elections cannot be held under martial law, which Ukraine imposed in February 2022 in response to Russia's invasion.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned Zelenskyy against attacking Trump.

"The idea that Zelenskiy is going to change the president's mind by badmouthing him in public media... everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration," Vance said in his West Wing office, the Daily Mail reported.

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