President Zelenskyy: Donald Trump ‘Trapped’ by Russian Disinformation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that US leader Donald Trump is 'trapped’ in Russia's ‘disinformation bubble’ after he accused Ukraine of Russian intervention, The Guardian reports.

‘Unfortunately, President Trump, with all due respect to him as the leader of a nation that we have great respect for... has fallen into the trap of this disinformation bubble,’ Zelenskyy said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.

In a series of inflammatory remarks on Tuesday night, Trump criticised Zelenskyy, saying he was ‘disappointed’ in him. Trump did not like that Zelenskyy complained about Ukraine's exclusion from the US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia.

Trump also accused Zelenskyy of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and questioned his legitimacy, saying that the Ukrainian president has an approval rating of only 4%, and called for new elections.

‘Since we are talking about 4%, we have seen this disinformation, we understand that it comes from Russia,’ Zelenskyy responded.

The Ukrainian president said that he ‘never comments on popularity ratings, especially his own or other leaders’, but added that the latest poll showed that most Ukrainians trust him.

Zelenskyy also rejected Trump's comments that most of Ukraine's support comes from the US. Trump claimed that the US has provided about $350 billion in aid to Ukraine and suggested, without providing evidence, that some of this aid has been misappropriated.

‘The truth is somewhere else,’ Zelenskyy said, adding that he remained “grateful for the support” and wanted ’the Trump team to have the true facts.’ He went on to say that the US has provided Ukraine with $67 billion in arms and $31.5 billion in budget support.

On Tuesday, Russian and US officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss improved economic and political cooperation, signalling a fundamental shift in Washington's approach to Moscow.