Trump tells 'dictator' Zelenskyy to move fast for peace or lose Ukraine

Remarks come after Zelenskyy accuses U.S. leader of being trapped in Russian disinformation bubble

U.S. President Donald Trump called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a 'dictator' after the Ukrainian leader said Trump was living in a Russian disinformation bubble. © Reuters

February 20, 2025 02:32 JST

WASHINGTON/KYIV (Reuters) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "a dictator without elections" and said he had better move fast to secure a peace deal or he would have no country left.

Trump spoke hours after Zelenskyy hit back at his suggestion that Ukraine was responsible for Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion, saying the U.S. president was trapped in a Russian disinformation bubble.