Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded on February 19 during a press conference to U.S. President Donald Trump, who called for presidential elections to be held in Ukraine, according to Meduza news agency.
"If someone wants to replace me right now, it's not going to happen," Zelensky said (quote from "RBC-Ukraine").
The Ukrainian President added that Trump's statement about his approval rating being at 4% was based on information from Russia: "We understand this, and we have evidence that these numbers are being discussed between America and Russia."
Zelensky reproached the Trump administration, which, according to him, “softens its policy” toward Russia, referring to the war as a "violation of territorial integrity" and a "conflict." Zelensky stated that Ukraine “is doing everything” to ensure the war is referred to as a war, writes Suspilne.
The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) reported on February 19 that, according to a survey conducted from February 4 to 9, 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelensky, while 37% do not.
On February 18, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Zelensky's approval rating was at 4%. Trump criticized Zelensky, placing the responsibility for the start of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war on him, and called for new presidential elections in Ukraine.
The BBC says President Trump has spent the day attacking Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him a “dictator”.
His attacks reportedly came after Zelensky, reacting to US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia from which Kyiv was excluded, said the US president was “living in a disinformation space” governed by Moscow.
Speaking at a Saudi-backed investment meeting in Florida, Trump reportedly said the only thing Zelensky “was really good at was playing Joe Biden like a fiddle”.
According to the BBC, the “dictator” slur quickly prompted criticism from European leaders including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said “it is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelensky his democratic legitimacy”.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also criticized Trump's use of the word "dictator" while German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the comments "absurd".
The BBC reports that speaking in Florida, Trump called Zelensky a “dictator”, just hours after using the same word in a Truth Social post about the Ukrainian president.
“He refuses to have elections. He's low in the real Ukrainian polls. How can you be high with every city being demolished?” Trump said.
