US President Donald Trump suggested holding elections in Ukraine during the ongoing conflict with Russia to potentially replace Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he incorrectly claimed holds a “4% approval rating”.
At a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump said, “We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, essentially martial law in Ukraine.” This came after his US delegation finished talks with Russian officials about negotiating a peace deal with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia.
Political discourse in Ukraine
While Zelenskyy’s approval ratings have seen a sharp decline since the war begin, the current consensus on his leadership is still far more amenable than the 4% claim that President Trump has made. His rating dropped from 90% before the Russian invasion to 77% in 2023, with recent figures showing just above 50% of people still approving the Ukrainian President’s leadership.
Presidential elections, originally scheduled for April 2024, have been indefinity postponed after the state was announced to be under martial law after Vladimir Putin announced largest invasion in the world since World War Two in February, 2022.
After Russia’s invasion, a general consensus was reached in Ukraine’s political diaspora to set aside differences to efficiently defend against Russia’s onslaught. Martial law, which was also voted on by opposition, was imposed and has been continuously extended. Zelenskyy, in 2023, said an election would give way to “political divides” at a time when the country should be focused on defense.
Following the Martial Law, several pro-Russian opposition parties were banned and other opposition parties also saw a change in their campaigns. The political discourse unified diverting itself from any allegations of Russian infinity between Zelenskyy or any other party in the government.
Trump’s suggestion comes after his delegation met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia without the presence of Ukrainian officials, much to the surprise and dismay of Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy has been adamant to not cede to any peace talks that may be proposed as a result of discussion behind Ukraine’s back. “Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement. And the same rule should apply to all of Europe. No decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine. No decisions about Europe without Europe,” he said.
Earlier, news circulated from the Russian intelligence services (SVR) suggesting that the NATO was considering replacing Zelenskyy by running a smear campaign exposing his alleged involvement in financial embezzlement in upcoming elections, including $1.5 billion meant for military equipment and the diversion of salaries for 130,000 deceased Ukrainian soldiers. The report claimed that NATO saw Zelenskyy as “expendable” and a major obstruction to peace negotiations with Russia.
Trump turns cold towards Ukraine
“I would say that, when they want a seat at the table, you could say the people have to, wouldn’t the people of Ukraine say, like, it’s been a long time since we’ve had an election,” Trump said in response to Ukraine’s absence while wanting to be involved, while falsely alleging that Ukraine started the war.
“That’s not a Russia thing,” Trump said of wanting elections in Ukraine. “That’s something coming from me and coming from many other countries also, you know, Ukraine is being just wiped out.”
Trump’s changed rhetoric on Zelenskyy comes after his phone call with Vladimir Putin last week and the talks in Saudi Arabia. He said that he “personally likes” Zelenskyy, but he doesn’t “care about personally.” “I care about getting the job done. You have leadership now that’s allowed a war to go on that should have never even happened,” he said, failing to mention Russia’s role in launching the invasion.
Trump then criticized Zelenskyy for misplacing funds the US has been giving Ukraine throughout the war.“Where is all the money that’s been given? Where is it going? And nobody, I’ve never seen an accounting of it. We give hundreds of billions of dollars. I don’t see any accounting. So I want to see peace.”
Earlier, Zelenskyy had alleged that Ukraine had only received about $76 billion of the $176 billion reportedly approved for “Ukrainian aid”. The “aid” received by Ukraine was in the form of arms rather than direct funding, Zelenskyy said, further claiming that he did not know where the rest of the money is.
This fuelled widespread speculation of corruption and malfeasance, possibly on the behalf of the US Congressmen or higher-level Ukrainian officials. However, a report by American think-tank, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), suggested that most of the funds are spent in the US only for indirectly aiding the Ukrainian Army, such as US training for Ukrainian troops, global humanitarian aid and funds for both Ukraine and NATO.
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Manbilas Singh is a talented writer and journalist who focuses on the finer details in every story and values integrity above everything. A self-proclaimed sleuth, he strives to expose the fine print behind seemingly mundane activities and aims to uncover the truth that is hidden from the general public. In his time away from work, he is a music aficionado and a nerd who revels in video & board games, books and Formula 1.
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