Trump-Zelenskyy spats: Who said what?

Tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have escalated sharply after U.S. and Russian delegations held talks in Saudi Arabia this week, with Zelenskyy accusing Trump of falling victim to Russian "disinformation" and Trump labelling Zelenskyy "a dictator without elections."

The heated exchange comes amid growing frustration over Ukraine's exclusion from the high-level talks in Riyadh. On Tuesday, senior representatives from both countries agreed to work toward ending the three-year Russia-Ukraine conflict and restoring bilateral relations without Ukraine's participation.

Trump vs. Zelenskyy: Who said what?

Speaking to reporters after the U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh, Trump dismissed concerns that Kyiv had been left out of negotiations to resolve the conflict. He argued that Ukraine should have already ended the war.

"Today I heard, 'Oh, we weren't invited.' Well, you've been there for three years. You should have ended it three years ago. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," Trump said at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump also claimed – without providing evidence – that Zelenskyy's approval rating was just 4 percent. However, a recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, cited in a Reuters/Ipsos survey, found that 57 percent of Ukrainians trust Zelenskyy.

Earlier on Wednesday, Zelenskyy fired back, accusing Trump of spreading "a lot of disinformation coming from Russia" in response to Trump's comments about his "low" approval ratings and the claim that Kyiv had initiated the conflict.

"We've seen this disinformation; we understand it comes from Russia," Zelenskyy said. "Unfortunately, President Trump, with all due respect for him as the leader of a nation we greatly respect, is living in this disinformation bubble."

"I would like to see more truth from the Trump team," he said during a press briefing in Kyiv.

Trump then took to his Truth Social platform to ramp up his rhetoric by calling Zelenskyy a "dictator" who "has done a terrible job."

"I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job. His country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – and so it continues," Trump wrote.

He added, "Zelenskyy better move fast, or he is not going to have a country left."

The spats between the two presidents came after Zelenskyy spent months cautiously courting Trump's support.

In early February, the Ukrainian president had expressed openness to exchanging Ukraine's "critical resources" for continued U.S. support, aligning with Trump's demands.

Prior to the U.S.-Russia talks, Zelenskyy instructed his aides to reject a proposal from Trump administration officials that would grant the U.S. significant access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals, arguing that the deal fails to protect Ukraine's interests.

In a sign of potential reconciliation, however, Zelenskyy on Thursday said he had a "productive meeting" with Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, in Kyiv.

"We have proposed the fastest and most constructive way to achieve results," said Zelenskyy, who also thanked the United States for the assistance and bipartisan support for Ukraine and voiced readiness to sign "a strong, effective investment and security agreement" with Trump.

(With input from agencies)