Trump repeats warning that Zelensky ‘better move fast’ to save Ukraine

President Donald Trump has repeated his warning to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he “better move fast” to negotiate an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or risk not having a nation to lead.

The rhetoric from Mr Trump toward Ukraine comes amid an escalating back-and-forth between the two presidents and rising tensions between Washington and much of Europe over the president’s approach to settling the conflict.

Speaking at a Saudi-backed investment meeting in Miami, Mr Trump repeated remarks made in an earlier Truth Social post in which he called Mr Zelensky a “dictator without elections”.

“He refuses to have elections. The only thing he was really good at was playing Joe Biden like a fiddle.

“A dictator without elections, Zelensky better move fast. He’s not going to have a country left. That war is going in the wrong direction. In the meantime, we’re successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia.”

He said Europe had failed to bring peace and questioned whether Mr Zelensky wanted “to keep the gravy train going”.

“I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job,” Mr Trump said. “His country is shattered, and millions and millions of people have died.

“You can’t bring a war to an end if you don’t talk to both sides. You got to talk. They haven’t been talking for three years.”

Mr Zelenskyy said Mr Trump was falling into a Russian disinformation trap — and was quickly admonished by Vice President JD Vance about the perils of publicly criticising the new president.

Mr Vance told the Daily Mail that Mr Zelensky’s criticism was not helping his cause.

“The idea that Zelenskyy is going to change the president’s mind by bad-mouthing him in public media, everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration,” he said.

Ukrainian officials continue to raise their concerns about Trump’s approach.

“Why should dominance be handed over to a country that is an aggressor, a violator of international law, and the author of aggression against Ukraine?” said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy. “We still do not understand this strategy.”

US and Russian officials meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday agreed to negotiate a settlement to an end to the war. Ukrainian and European officials were not included.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer was appalled that Mr Trump was blaming Ukraine for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

“It’s disgusting to see an American president turn against one of our friends and openly side with a thug like Vladimir Putin,” Mr Schumer said.

Republican Senator John Kennedy said he disagreed with Mr Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine was responsible.

“I think Vladimir Putin started the war,” Mr Kennedy said. “I also believe, from bitter experience, that Vladimir Putin is a gangster. He’s a gangster with a black heart.”