Residents look at their apartment building that was struck by a Russian drone, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Hlevakha, Kyiv region, Ukraine January 24, 2025. [Source: Reuters]

U.S. President Donald Trump denounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a “dictator” on Wednesday and warned he had to move quickly to secure peace or risk losing his country, deepening a feud between the two leaders that has alarmed European officials.

The extraordinary attacks – a day after Trump claimed Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s 2022 invasion – heightened concerns among U.S. allies in Europe that Trump’s approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict could benefit Moscow.

Less than a month into his presidency, Trump has upended U.S. policy on the war, ending a campaign to isolate Russia with a Trump-Putin phone call and talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials that have sidelined Ukraine.

In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said no one could force his country to give in.

Zelenskiy’s five-year term was supposed to end in 2024, but presidential and parliamentary elections cannot be held under martial law, which Ukraine imposed in February 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion.

Trump’s outburst followed Zelenskiy’s comments on Tuesday that the U.S. president was parroting Russian disinformation when he asserted that Ukraine “should never have started” the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday warned Zelenskiy against attacking Trump.

Russia has seized some 20% of Ukraine and is slowly but steadily gaining more territory in the east. Moscow said its “special military operation” responded to an existential threat posed by Kyiv’s pursuit of NATO membership. Ukraine and the West call Russia’s action an imperialist land grab.

The Ukrainian leader said Trump’s assertion that his approval rating was just 4% was Russian disinformation and that any attempt to replace him would fail.

The latest poll from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, from early February, found 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskiy.

Following Trump’s latest remarks, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Zelenskiy “sits in office after duly-held elections.” When asked who started the war, Dujarric responded that Russia had invaded Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was “false and dangerous” for Trump to call Zelenskiy a dictator, German newspaper Spiegel reported.