The latest statements of Ukrainian and US leaders targeting each other have brought to the fore the course of relations between the two countries during the Trump era.
AA correspondent compiled information about Trump-Zelenskiy relations.
One of Trump's election promises was to end the war
Arguing that if he wins the 2020 elections in the USA, the Russia-Ukraine War will never have started and that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not engage in a war during his presidency, Trump often blames his predecessor Biden for this issue.
Accusing Zelenskiy of being at fault in starting the war and constantly wanting more, Trump claims that Putin would not have been able to start the war if he had been president at that time.
In his 2023 election campaign, Trump harshly criticizes the Democrats for their intense support for Ukraine, and describes the Russia-Ukraine War as "Biden's war".
Trump, who promised to end the war in 24 hours when he took office but was unsuccessful, argued in his later statements that the rhetoric of ending the war in 24 hours was "an innuendo".
Trump often criticizes this, noting that 350 billion dollars were given to Ukraine during the Democrats' rule.
Zelenskiy and Trump argued at press conference
While Trump met with Zelenskiy many times after taking office, the US leader's special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also met with Russian and Ukrainian officials many times.
While the USA brought the parties together in Abu Dhabi and Geneva, no clear decision came out of the meetings here to end the war.
The press conference between Trump and Zelenskiy on February 28, 2025 revealed the tense relationship between the two leaders. While a possible agreement between the USA and Ukraine on rare earth elements was on the agenda, the leaders who appeared in front of the cameras made accusations against each other.
While Zelenskiy complained that the US administration, including pre-Trump presidents, did not stop Putin, Vice President JD Vance accused Zelenskiy of "disrespect".
While Vance said that the USA was trying to help Ukraine, Zelenskiy stated that every country, including the USA, might have a problem during the war, but the USA, which was far away, did not feel it.
Trump then told Zelenskiy, "Don't tell us what to feel. We're trying to solve a problem. Don't tell us what to feel because you're not in a position to fully dictate that." he replied.
A period of both discussion and agreement
The two leaders chose to improve their relations after a while after the controversial meeting. Trump declared that the phone call in March of the same year "went very well."
While Zelenskiy said that they believed that permanent peace could be achieved in 2025 under Trump's leadership, this was not successful either.
In the following period, Trump announced that they would sign an agreement with Ukraine on rare earth elements, and 11 days later, he gave the message that Zelenskiy was trying to back out of the agreement and that this could cause problems.
While Zelenskiy defended "first a ceasefire, then an agreement", Trump said that the signing of the agreement was delayed.
While the USA and Ukraine signed an "economic partnership" agreement in May, which included the use of rare earth elements, this step caused the relations to regain momentum. The parties described their meetings during this process as positive and productive.
While Trump increased his criticism of Putin during this period, he argued that he was "not happy" with Russia's attacks on Ukraine and Putin's actions and that the Russian leader was "crazy".
Trump, who increased his meetings with Zelenskiy in the future and said that he started preparations for a meeting that will bring together the leaders of Ukraine and Russia in the summer of 2025, has not yet been successful in this.
In August, Putin and Trump met in the US state of Alaska. While solutions to the Ukrainian crisis and improvement of Russia-US relations were discussed at the summit, no final agreement emerged from the meeting.
Trump increases criticism of Zelenskiy at the end of 2025
While it was stated that the 28-article peace plan proposal between Ukraine and Russia, prepared by the Trump administration in November 2025, was presented to Kiev, US officials accused the West's criticism of the plan of misunderstanding the facts on the ground.
While the Ukrainian side gave the message that they "will not betray the national interests" of their country, Trump emphasized that this plan was not his "last offer" and repeated his call to end the war.
While the peace plan was being discussed in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23, 2025, Trump accused the Kiev administration of not being grateful for his efforts.
Trump also stated that Zelenskiy did not read the "peace plan" and was disappointed by it.
US President Trump brought up the issue of not holding elections in Ukraine in the future and said, "I wonder, how long until elections are held in Ukraine?" he said.
Trump's views on Zelenskiy became "positive" in July
While the two leaders met in the USA in December 2025, Trump stated that they had made great progress to end the war.
While Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine were "close" to an agreement at the beginning of 2026, he asked Putin to stop attacks on Kiev for a week.
Russia and Ukraine announced in May that they accepted Trump's 3-day temporary ceasefire and mutual exchange of 1,000 captive soldiers.
In July, it was claimed that Trump's assessment of Zelenskiy's activities and policies within the framework of the war with Russia had changed positively in recent weeks.
While the two leaders discussed the production license of Patriot systems during this period, Kiev maintains its hope on this issue, although Trump later gave it a red light.
Relations have become tense again in recent days
US President Trump criticizes Ukraine's attack on oil refineries in Russia and its lack of support for the agreement, and claims that the country should "get a new president" instead of Zelenskiy.
Claiming that Zelenskiy wanted to cause trouble to the world and hit diesel fuel facilities, Trump called on the Ukrainian leader to stop.
Zelenskiy, on the other hand, states that they can hold elections in case of a "complete ceasefire" and accuses the USA of not being able to find a way to stop Putin.
Trump and Putin's agreement that Russia will supply diesel fuel to the American and global markets also causes reactions from both Kiev and Western allies.
European officials also claimed that the United States "threatened" Ukraine with suspending intelligence sharing if it did not stop its attacks on Russia's energy facilities.
While Trump announced that a "truce has been reached" between Ukraine and Russia not to attack energy infrastructures, the Ukrainian leader stated that he was "not aware" of the development, but he supported this idea and that they were ready for a ceasefire.
In one of his posts, Zelenskiy argued that Russia violated Trump's statement by continuing attacks on energy facilities in his country.
