President Donald Trump issued a statement on Truth Social Wednesday morning criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, asserting that the Ukrainian leader is a dictator and responsible for the ongoing conflict. 

Earlier in the day Zelensky had earlier accused Trump of being “caught in a web of disinformation” stemming from Russia. 

“Unfortunately, President Trump—I have great respect for him as a leader of a nation that we have great respect for, the American people who always support us—unfortunately lives in this disinformation space,” Zelensky added in comments to reporters in Kiev.

Weighing in on Zelensky’s attacks on the U.S. president, Vice President J.D. Vance told the Daily Mail that Zelensky’s comments would “backfire.” 

“The idea that Zelensky is going to change the president’s mind by badmouthing him in public media … Everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration,” Vance said.

“We obviously love the Ukrainian people. We admire the bravery of the soldiers, but we obviously think that this war needs to come to a rapid close,” Vance added. “That is the policy of the president of the United States. It is not based on Russian disinformation. It’s based on the fact that Donald Trump, I think, knows a lot about geopolitics and has a very strong view, and has had a strong view for a very long time.”

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