There was a heated back and forth between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday leading inexorably to a deepening face-off between the two leaders.
Trump escalated his comments by calling Zelensky a “dictator” – he had previously claimed that the Ukrainian leader was down to 4% approval rating among the Ukrainian public – a claim that is not true, as BBC correspondent, Sarah Rainsford explained.
Trump’s comments followed a statement from Zelensky, who said Trump is living in a “disinformation space” created by Russia.
The exchange sparked reactions from world leaders, with Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, calling Trump’s comments “false and dangerous”.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said he would meet his US counterpart “with pleasure”, but added that such a meeting would have to be well prepared.
Meanwhile, the US special envoy for Ukraine arrived in Kyiv ahead of a planned meeting with Zelensky, which is scheduled for Thursday.
Wednesday saw further attacks in the region. At least two people were killed in a Russian strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka, in Donetsk, according to the regional head. Later in the day, one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s border region of Belgorod, according to the regional governor.
Credit: BBC
