US President Donald Trump accused Ukraine on Wednesday of mistreating Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during his recent visit to Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Scott Bessent went there and was treated quite rudely because, essentially, they told him ‘no’. And Zelensky was unavailable for a meeting as he was asleep,” Trump told the press, despite reports of an actual meeting on February 12.
On the same Wednesday, Trump criticised Zelensky on his platform Truth Social, calling him a “dictator without elections” and warning that he might lose the country if he didn’t act swiftly. Trump stated, “I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job.”
Bessent’s visit to Kyiv marked the first trip by a member of the new US administration to Ukraine, with Trump claiming Ukraine is successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia.
“Russians have taken a lot of territory, so they hold the cards,” Trump told journalists on Wednesday evening, hinting at a possible future meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s comments further dampened Kyiv’s hope that Washington would firmly support its interests in the negotiations to end the war.
US President Donald Trump speaks with journalists, alongside White House Communications Director Steven Cheung (R), on board Air Force One on route from Miami to the White House in Washington, DC on February 19, 2025. Credit: Belga / AFP
On Thursday, ahead of the third anniversary of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, Zelensky is scheduled to meet US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg. Upon arrival in Kyiv, Kellogg expressed understanding of Ukraine’s need for “security guarantees.”
During his first presidency, Trump was impeached over the Ukraine scandal, when he attempted to coerce Zelenskyy into investigating his political rival Joe Biden to ruin his 2020 campaign.
