Donald Trump slams Zelenskyy: "Ukraine shouldn't have started the war"

Just one day after U.S.-Russia negotiation delegations met in Saudi Arabia, U.S. President Donald Trump appears to have adopted most of Russia's demands. Trump harshly criticized President Zelenskyy and even blamed Ukraine for starting the war with Russia.

In a conversation with reporters at Mar-a-Lago last night (Tuesday), Trump addressed the talks with Russians and while expressing satisfaction, simultaneously launched a severe critique of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

When Zelenskyy expressed disappointment at not being invited to the Riyadh talks, Trump responded in his characteristic style: "He's complaining about not being invited... You should have been there (at the negotiating table) three years ago! A deal could have been reached long ago," Trump said, adding that if he had managed the negotiations, Ukraine would have retained most of its territory without bloodshed.

Trump continued, "You should have ended this three years ago, actually it would have been better if you hadn't started it in the first place." He also addressed the fact that Ukraine's elections were postponed (due to the war) and that President Zelenskyy is serving beyond his legal term limit. "If they want a place at the discussion table, he needs to let the Ukrainian people have their voice heard," Trump said, adding "They haven't held elections there for a very long time."

The Ukrainian presidential elections were indeed postponed under martial law, which was imposed following the Russian invasion in February 2022. Trump's reference to this issue almost exactly echoes messages from the Kremlin following yesterday's meeting in Riyadh and Russia's repeated demands for elections in Ukraine.

Walla contributed to this article.