European leaders have supported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the US President Donald Trump called him a "dictator without elections".
Finnish President Alexander Stubb rejected the words of the American president and stated that his state "supports the Ukrainian Constitution and the democratically elected President Volodymyr Zelensky".
"The war of aggression was started solely by Russia and President Putin. Our job is to discuss with Trump the consequences if Putin gets what he wants," he added.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called Trumpʼs statement "deeply unfair". Støre noted that Zelensky "is the elected president with a large majority". This position was supported by other Norwegian politicians.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Trumpʼs comments "wrong and dangerous".
"It is simply wrong and dangerous to deny the democratic legitimacy of President Zelensky... The fact that regular elections cannot be held during a war is in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution of Ukraine and electoral legislation. No one should claim the opposite," he said.
Czech President Petr Pavel said: "To call the president of such a country a dictator requires a great deal of cynicism."
“What value would elections have in a country that has been defending itself for 3 years from aggression by a neighbouring nuclear power? How can elections be organized when a fifth of the territory is occupied and the entire country is under daily shelling?” the Czech leader wrote.
The leader of the opposition Conservative Party of Great Britain Camille Badenoch wrote that "Zelensky is not a dictator — he is the democratically elected leader of Ukraine, who courageously resisted Putinʼs illegal invasion".
President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked for the support.
- Trump previously claimed that Zelensky had only a 4% approval rating. On the same day, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) published research showing that as of the first half of February 2025 , 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelensky.
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