Trump suggests Ukraine responsible for war and ignores Zelensky’s frustration at exclusion from peace negotiations

Donald Trump appears to have blamed Ukraine for Russia’s invasion of the country three years ago, as he dismissed Volodymr Zelensky’s anger at being cut out of peace talks and criticised him for not making a deal to end the war sooner.

‘You should never have started it,’ the US President said of Kyiv as he took aim at the Ukrainian President for raising concerns that his country had not been at the table in talks between Washington and Moscow on Tuesday.

‘I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it’s going very well. But today, I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years. 

‘You should have ended it. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal. I could have made a deal for Ukraine,’ Trump told a news conference.

After the meeting between US and Russian officials in Riyadh on Tuesday, Trump said he was ‘much more confident’ that a peace deal could be struck.

‘They were very good,’ he said. ‘Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the savage barbarianism.’

The stunning claim came as Vladimir Putin’s forces launched a blistering aerial attack on the Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight, striking a children’s clinic and kindergarten and leaving much of the city without power.

As fears mount that Washington could force Kyiv into an agreement it doesn’t want, Zelensky said yesterday that he will never accept a deal made without Ukraine’s input, and hit out at the US and Russia for holding talks ‘behind our backs’.

But Trump responded furiously to his comments, further attacking Zelensky at last night’s press conference in Mar-a-Lago by saying it had been ‘too long’ since Ukraine had held elections for him to have a seat at the table.

Trump insisted this point was ‘not a demand from Russia,’ but ‘something that comes from me and from many other countries.’

However the claim is straight out of Moscow’s playbook – and failed to mention that Russia’s recent election in 2024 was rigged, with Putin’s foes killed, jailed or exiled, with votes distorted and the media muzzled to give him a landslide victory.

Trump went on to falsely claim that Zelensky is only supported by four per cent of Ukrainians.

Asked about European countries potentially sending troops to Ukraine, Trump said: ‘If they want to do that, that’s great, I’m all for it… I mean, I know France has mentioned it, others have mentioned it, the UK has mentioned it.’

However, he added: ‘We won’t have to put any over there because, you know, we’re very far away.’

Sir Keir Starmer called for the US to provide a ‘backstop’ for any deal in Ukraine, saying that a security guarantee from Washington would be ‘the only way to effectively deter Russia’ from rebuilding its forces and launching another attack.

As US special representative Keith Kellogg arrived in Kyiv, Zelensky slammed Trump’s team in Saudi Arabia, saying they had been blinded by Putin’s ‘pathological liars’.

Referring to the overnight onslaught on Odesa, the Ukrainian leader said: ‘Just yesterday, after the infamous meeting in Riyadh, it became known that Russian representatives had once again lied about not allegedly striking the energy sector.

‘Almost at the same time, there was another strike, strike drones against electrical transformers.

‘And this was in winter, when it was minus six degrees Celsius at night. At least 160,000 Odessans are now without heat and electricity.

‘Thirteen schools, a kindergarten, and several hospitals are left without heating and electricity.

‘Repair crews are working, all utilities are involved. I am grateful to every rescuer, everyone who helps people.

‘We must remember that Russia is ruled by pathological liars, and they cannot be trusted – they must be pressured for the sake of peace.’

Kellogg insisted after arriving by train that he was there to listen on behalf of the Trump government.

‘We will listen. We are prepared to provide what is needed,’ he said. ‘We understand the need for security guarantees. Part of my mission is to listen.

‘Then I will go back to the United States, talk to President Trump to make sure we understand.’

Trump said he will ‘probably’ meet with Putin this month, with the Kremlin saying this morning that while talks would take time to prepare they could come before the end of the month. 

During a visit to Turkey yesterday, Zelensky vowed that Ukraine would not bow to Moscow’s demands, even as relations warm between Russia and the US.

‘I wonder why they believe Ukraine would accept all these ultimatums now if we refused them at the most difficult moment,’ the Ukrainian President said, referring to Kyiv’s refusal to bow to Moscow’s demands during crisis talks at the start of the war.

Zelensky pointed out that there were ‘no agreements with the Russians during the occupation of Kyiv region,’ nor during negotiations in Belarus or Turkey.

Moscow at the time called for a reduction in the number of Ukrainian troops, recognition of occupied Ukrainian territories as part of Russia, and the appointment of a pro-Russian government in Kyiv. 

‘As President of Ukraine, I have never given any guarantees to anyone or confirmed anything. Moreover, I have never intended to accept Russia’s ultimatums. And I am not going to,’ Zelensky said.

He added that while Ukraine wants the war to end, ‘we want it to be fair and that no one decides anything behind our backs.’