Volodymyr Zelensky has said Donald Trump is living in a Russian “disinformation space”, following the US president’s comments about the Ukrainian leader’s approval rating.
Mr Trump said at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, on Tuesday that Mr Zelensky’s rating stands at 4%.
The Ukrainian president replied at a news conference in the capital, Kyiv, on Wednesday: “We have seen this disinformation. We understand that it is coming from Russia.”
He added that Mr Trump “lives in this disinformation space”.
The US president also suggested that Ukraine ought to hold elections, which have been postponed due to the war and the consequent imposition of martial law, in accordance with the Ukrainian Constitution.
Public opinion polls and approval ratings have not been reliable in Ukraine because of the fighting.
Mr Zelensky made the comments shortly before he was expected to meet Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, who arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Mr Kellogg will meet Mr Zelensky and military commanders as the US shifts its policy away from years of efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump suggested on Tuesday that Kyiv was to blame for the war, which enters its fourth year next week, as talks between top American and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia sidelined Ukraine and its European supporters.
The US president’s comments are likely to anger Ukrainian officials, who have urged the world to help them fight Russia’s full-scale invasion that began on February 24 2022.
The battlefield has also brought grim news for Ukraine in recent months.
A relentless onslaught in eastern areas by Russia’s bigger army is grinding down Ukrainian forces, which are slowly but steadily being pushed backward at some points on the 600-mile (1,000km) front line.
Mr Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Ukraine “should have never started” the war and “could have made a deal” to prevent it.
Mr Kellogg said his visit is “a chance to have some good, substantial talks”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said any settlement will require US security commitments to keep Russia at bay (Tetiana Dzhafarova/Pool/AP)
Mr Zelensky cancelled his planned Wednesday trip to Saudi Arabia in what some analysts saw as an attempt to deny legitimacy to the US-Russia talks about the future of his country.
American officials have signalled that Ukraine’s hopes of joining Nato in order to ward off Russian aggression after reaching a possible peace agreement will not happen.
Mr Zelensky has said any settlement will require US security commitments to keep Russia at bay.
“We understand the need for security guarantees,” Mr Kellogg said in comments carried by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne Novyny on his arrival at Kyiv railway station.
“It’s very clear to us the importance of the sovereignty of this nation and the independence of this nation as well … Part of my mission is to sit and listen,” the retired three-star general said.
He said he will convey what he learns on his visit to Mr Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “and ensure that we get this one right”.