RT-Engels: 20-02-2025,
The German chancellor has slammed the US president for questioning the Ukrainian leader’s legitimacy
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has accused US President Donald Trump of making “wrong and dangerous” remarks after the American leader branded Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky “a dictator.”
The public clash between Trump and Zelensky intensified on Wednesday when the US president issued a post on his Truth Social platform, describing the Ukrainian leader as “a dictator without elections” and “a modestly successful comedian” who had deceived Washington into financing “a war that couldn’t be won.” Trump further criticized Zelensky’s leadership, claiming he was doing “a terrible job” and warning that Ukraine would be left without a country unless he brokered a ceasefire with Russia.
Zelensky’s five-year presidential term expired in May 2024, although no new elections have been called in Ukraine due to martial law. Last year, Zelensky claimed that holding a vote during the ongoing war and national mobilization was “not the right time.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said he no longer considers Zelensky a legitimate head of state.
Speaking to Spiegel on Wednesday, Scholz criticized Trump, saying that “it is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelensky his democratic legitimacy.”
“What is correct is that Vladimir Zelensky is the elected head of state of Ukraine,” the chancellor insisted.
Other officials in Western Europe have also rushed to defend Zelensky,