MIAMI — President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he “better move fast” to negotiate an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or risk not having a nation to lead.

The rhetoric from Trump toward Ukraine comes amid an escalating back-and-forth between the two presidents and rising tensions between Washington and much of Europe over Trump’s approach to settling the biggest conflict on the continent since World War II.

Trump’s harsh words for Zelenskyy drew criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans in the United States, where Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression has had bipartisan support. Zelenskyy said Trump was falling into a Russian disinformation trap — and was quickly admonished by Vice President JD Vance about the perils of publicly criticizing the new president.

Trump, who is trying to bring the fighting to a close on terms that Kyiv says are too favorable to Moscow, used an extended social media post on his Truth Social platform to lash out at Zelenskyy and call the Ukrainian a “dictator without elections.”

Dispute Over Aid and Elections

The U.S. has obligated about $183 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to the U.S. special inspector general, conducting oversight of American assistance to Ukraine.

Trump accused Zelenskyy of being “A Dictator without Elections !!” Due to the war, Ukraine did delay elections that were scheduled for April 2024.

He later repeated many of the criticisms of Zelenskyy, who he said has done a “terrible job,” during an address before a meeting in Miami of business executives hosted by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Related Story: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Says Trump Is Living in a Russian-Made ‘Disinformation Space’

Bipartisan Response to Trump’s Stance

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York was appalled that Trump was blaming Ukraine for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

“It’s disgusting to see an American president turn against one of our friends and openly side with a thug like Vladimir Putin,” Schumer said.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he disagreed with Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine was responsible.

“I think Vladimir Putin started the war,” Kennedy said. “I also believe, from bitter experience, that Vladimir Putin is a gangster. He’s a gangster with a black heart” who has Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s “taste for blood.”

Ukrainian officials met on Wednesday in Kyiv with retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia.

“It’s an egregious war in the sense of the length of time and casualties there and he understands the human suffering,” Kellogg said of Trump’s thinking. “He understands the damage that we can see and we want to see an end to it.”