Zelensky Presumes Trump Filled With Russian Fake Information Space

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presumed Donald Trump is filled with fake information created by Russia, as he responded to criticism of Kyiv by the US President.

On Tuesday, President Trump appeared to blame Ukraine for the war and suggested the Ukrainian leader’s popularity rating was as low as 4%. Trump was speaking after US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia that left out Ukraine.

In his first comments after the talks, Russia’s Vladimir Putin said he rated the talks in Riyadh “very highly” and that Trump had told him that Ukraine would be part of any future talks process.

Zelensky said it was America’s right to discuss bilateral issues, but that the US had helped Putin “to break out of years of isolation”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who took part in the talks, praised President Trump for accepting Moscow’s repeated claim that “one of the root causes” of the war was the Biden administration’s “pushy line of dragging Ukraine into Nato”.

Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday on a mission to “sit and listen” to Ukraine’s position. Kellogg was not part of the US team that met Russian officials in Riyadh.

Almost three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European nations have been scrambling to respond to this week’s developments.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Zelensky accused Russia of lying during Tuesday’s “notorious meeting” in the Saudi capital, where the US and Russia agreed to start negotiating an end to the war.

“With all due respect to President Donald Trump as a leader… he is living in this fake information space,” he said.

He added that Ukraine had “evidence” that Russia was spreading fake information about his approval rating, and “these numbers are being discussed between America and Russia”.

Zelensky won a five-year term in 2019, and has remained in office because elections have been suspended since martial law was declared after Russia’s full-scale invasion.

When asked about the claims made on his popularity, Zelensky said that while he never commented on popularity ratings, one opinion poll put him at 58%.

He said he wanted Trump’s Ukraine envoy to “walk Kyiv’s streets” and “see everything for himself”.

BBC/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma