U.S. President Donald Trump denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator” and ratcheted up pressure on Kyiv to accept the terms of a deal to end the war the U.S. is negotiating with Russia.

Trump on Wednesday accused Zelenskyy of taking advantage of U.S. aid supplied by former President Joe Biden and insinuated Ukraine was to blame for the ongoing conflict, which Russia started with its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Trump’s increasing bellicosity toward Ukraine has alarmed European allies, and even some fellow Republicans, who say he is giving up too much leverage to Russia.

“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden ‘like a fiddle.’”

Ukraine has rejected calls to hold elections for fear of Russian interference and the sheer challenge of organizing the vote in the areas of the country that are either under occupation or constant shelling and with millions of people displaced or on the frontline. In the wake of Russian’s invasion, Ukraine imposed martial law, which under the country’s constitution prohibits holding an election. Zelenskyy’s term was scheduled to end last May but has been extended until the martial law is lifted.

Trump’s comments mark his most pointed criticism of Zelenskyy since retaking office, the latest sign that the U.S.-Ukraine relationship is rapidly deteriorating under the new president’s administration. Trump dispatched top advisers to Saudi Arabia this week to negotiate directly with their Russian counterparts — cutting Ukraine out of the process.

“In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the ‘gravy train’ going,” Trump wrote on Wednesday.

Ukraine’s absence from the talks prompted Zelenskyy to cancel a trip to Saudi Arabia planned for Wednesday. Trump on Tuesday made similar comments about Zelenskyy’s polling and Ukraine’s culpability for the war, prompting the Ukrainian leader to accuse the president of living in a Russian “disinformation space.”

Trump’s efforts to broker closer ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin has prompted blowback from some senior Republicans, some of whom have warned that directly negotiating with the Kremlin amounts to awarding the people who started the war. Trump has proposed a summit meeting with Putin designed to bring an end to the war.

“Russia is the aggressor there’s no question about that,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Wednesday. “He can speak for himself but in my view there is no question who started the war.”

Trump’s antagonistic approach toward Kyiv has also rattled the European Union, which partnered with the U.S. to provide support to Ukraine during the Biden administration. The E.U. is working on a plan to provide additional military support for Ukraine as soon as this year, amid the prospect that Trump could cut off U.S. aid.

The Trump administration has said Europe should shoulder more of the burden of supplying aid to Ukraine. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented Zelenskyy last week with a proposal for the U.S. to take 50% ownership of the country’s rare earth minerals in exchange for continued economic and military support, which the Ukrainian leader rejected, the Financial Times reported.

Trump during his first term sought to cultivate a close relationship with Putin, and also had a fraught relationship with Zelenskyy. Trump was impeached in 2019 over his alleged efforts to pressure Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden, who was running for the Democratic presidential nomination. Trump denied wrongdoing.

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With assistance from Erik Wasson and Piotr Skolimowski.

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