U.S. President Donald Trump stated that elections need to be held in Ukraine because the current president, Volodymyr Zelensky, allegedly has a low approval rating, and that Russia supposedly wants to end the war.
"We are currently facing a situation in Ukraine where elections have not been held for a long time. There is a state of war in place. The Ukrainian leader now, as sad as it is for me to acknowledge, has a support rate of 4%," Trump said at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago following talks between the U.S. and Russia in Riyadh on February 18.
According to him, it is not Russia that demands elections in Ukraine, but rather this is an "objective situation," given that elections have not been held for a long time.
It remains unclear where Trump sourced these sociological data.
Additionally, the U.S. president claims that Russia "wants to stop" the war.
"Russia wants to put an end to this madness that is happening there; its soldiers are dying by the thousands every week. These are not American soldiers; they are mainly Russian and Ukrainian military personnel, although there are also Koreans. They were brought in to fight, and a significant portion of them has perished. It's absurd," he stated.
He emphasized that the war could have allegedly been resolved without territorial losses "even by a mediocre negotiator" several years ago. "They had three years to sit down at the negotiating table. This should not have started; it has long been time for a deal," he declared.
"If I were president, this would not have begun. I see how people are dying; such numbers have not been seen since World War II. Even if any person, lacking negotiation skills, had taken this on, it could have been resolved several years ago," Trump said.
Furthermore, the president supported the idea of deploying European peacekeepers in Ukraine but added that the U.S. would not send its troops.
"If they want it, I support it. I know France has mentioned this, as well as the UK and other countries. If we have a peace agreement and there are military personnel there, and Europe sees that it is necessary—let it be. We will not deploy our military there, but their military can be there; I'm not against it. The main thing is to have peace or a ceasefire. A ceasefire is also an option. And I know that France wants to make a very good gesture," he said.
As reported, according to the KMIS rating, as of December 2024, 52% of surveyed Ukrainians trusted President Volodymyr Zelensky, 39% did not trust him, and the remaining 9% were undecided about their stance.