Then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet at Trump Tower in New York City, New York, Sept. 27, 2024. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
Trump’s post included a series of inaccurate statements, including that Zelenskyy "talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn't be won, that never had to start." Meanwhile, Congress has appropriated $175 billion since 2022 for aid to Ukraine, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Trump’s comments build on statements he delivered Tuesday at his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate, where he said that Russia wasn't the only one exerting pressure to force Ukraine to hold an election. One of Russia's conditions for signing a peace deal includes Ukraine holding an election, nearly a year after Zelenskyy's five-year term was slated to end.
But Zelenskyy has remained in his position leading Kyiv because the Ukrainian constitution bars holding elections under martial law. Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022.
Additionally, Trump chastised Ukraine on Tuesday for not ending the war sooner, and also appeared to suggest that Ukraine started the conflict, even though Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. officials met with Russian leaders to discuss a peace agreement to end the war between Russia and Ukraine at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday Feb. 18, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)
The first action the U.S. plans to take after the meetings with Russian officials is to "reestablish the functionality of our respective missions in Washington and in Moscow," Rubio told reporters from the Associated Press and CNN.
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"For us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic facilities that are operating and functioning normally," Rubio said, according to a State Department transcript.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump vowed on the campaign trail in 2024 that he would work to end the conflict if elected again.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-zelenskyy-war-words-heats-up-even-us-looks-wind-down-war-ukraine