WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday for suggesting that the end of Russia's war against Ukraine is still likely “very, very far away."
The comments come as prominent Trump allies escalate pressure on Zelenskyy to dramatically change his approach to the U.S. president, who has made quickly ending the war a top priority, or step aside.
The long complicated relationship between the leaders has reached a nadir following a disastrous White House meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance excoriated Zelenskyy for not being sufficiently thankful for U.S. support for Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform about comments from Zelenskyy made late Sunday.
Trump took issue with Zelenskyy suggesting it would take time to come to an agreement between Russia and Ukraine to end the war, while trying to offer a positive take on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of the White House meeting.
“I think our relationship (with the U.S.) will continue, because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Washington’s support for the past three years of war.
But Trump was only further irritated by Zelenskyy’s suggesting it will take time for the conflict to come to a close.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. — Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added in his post. “What are they thinking?”
Earlier Monday, Trump's national security adviser said Zelenskyy’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office talks “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the U.S. administration will be able to deal with going forward.
“Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?” Mike Waltz said on Fox News' "America’s Newsroom" on Monday. “And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?”
Waltz added another layer of doubt about U.S. support as other high-profile Trump allies have suggested that the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy is becoming untenable.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that Zelenskyy “needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country” for Ukraine to continue pursuing a peace deal negotiated by the United States.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally who has been vociferous supporter of Ukraine, said soon after the Oval Office meeting that Zelenskyy “either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”