Trump blasts Zelenskyy, pressures Ukraine to end war with Russia

(The Center Square) – Since meeting with select Russian and U.S. diplomats Tuesday to discuss an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, President Donald Trump appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war and has continued to apply public pressure to its president to bring about its end.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed frustration that he wasn’t invited to the meeting, and Trump shot back in a press briefing.

“But today, I heard, ‘Oh, well we weren’t invited,’" Trump said, referring to Zelenskyy's comments. "Well you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it [in] three years. You should have never started it, you could have made a deal."

Its third anniversary looming, the war began on Feb. 24, 2022, with Russia deploying missile strikes and a ground invasion into Ukraine. The U.S. immediately began sending Ukraine support in the form of funds, military supplies and humanitarian aid.

“As of April, Congress had appropriated more than $174 billion to assist Ukraine,” the Government Accountability Office wrote in a blog post in September.

Ukraineoversight.gov, a website established by “the federal oversight community” cites funding totals at the end of September as nearly $183 billion. The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs wrote in a fact sheet released on Jan. 20 that “we have provided $65.9 billion in military assistance” since the start of the war in 2022. As the war has continued, some Republicans have become increasingly critical of America’s spending in the conflict, concerned it will continue to drain U.S. resources indefinitely.

Trump remained critical of Zelenskyy Wednesday and took to Truth Social, lambasting the president and saying he had conned America into investing in the war effort.

“Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn't be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and 'TRUMP,' will never be able to settle,” Trump wrote.

Trump also blamed former President Joe Biden for giving away American resources too freely, more than its European counterparts.

“The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe's money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back. Why didn't Sleepy Joe Biden demand Equalization, in that this War is far more important to Europe than it is to us,” Trump went on.

He continued levying accusations against Zelenskyy, insinuating Ukrainian leadership had either incompetently or corruptly mismanaged American aid and calling the president a "Dictator without Elections." Though America is "successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia," according to Trump, he still urged Zelenskky to act in his mocking tone.

“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” wrote Trump. “I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died.”