Tehran, Karafarinane Eghtesad – A war of words is intensifying between the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents as Volodymyr Zelensky has hit back at Donald Trump’s accusation that Ukraine started the ongoing war with Russia.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday, Zelensky criticized Trump for his claims, saying that the American president is trapped in a “disinformation bubble” and that Ukraine is not for sale.

“Unfortunately, President Trump – I have great respect for him as a leader of a nation that we have great respect for the American people who always support us – unfortunately lives in this disinformation space,” Zelensky said.

The response followed the U.S. president’s remarks that Ukraine was responsible for the Russian military operation and that Kyiv could have made a deal to avoid the conflict that erupted in February 2022.

Trump also questioned the legitimacy of his Ukrainian counterpart, arguing that Zelensky’s approval ratings sat at just 4%.

“As we are talking about 4%, we have seen this disinformation, we understand it’s coming from Russia,” Zelensky said while dismissing Trump’s claim.

Referring to $67 billion in weapons and $31.5 billion in budgetary U.S. support, Zelensky said that the American demand that Ukraine transfer $500 billion worth of Ukraine’s rare minerals as compensation was not a serious conversation as he cannot sell his country.

Zelensky is angry over high-level talks between U.S. and Russian officials on ending the war in Ukraine that was held in the Saudi capital on Tuesday without Kyiv’s participation.

It was Kyiv’s complaint about being shut out of the talks that sparked Trump’s tirade against Zelensky on Tuesday.

Zelensky said that the U.S. direct talks with Russia actually “helped Putin out of his long isolation,” a claim that did not bode well with Trump. 

Trump did not stop at questioning who started the war in Ukraine but appeared to question Zelensky’s legitimacy.

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