A BATTLE of two presidents is turning the world dramatically upside down as Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s fiery feud continues.
The respective leaders of Ukraine and the US have had a chaotic relationship dating back to 2016 with the pair throwing not-so-subtle digs at one another ever since.
Their personal tension has bubbled over this week following on from Trump’s vow to end the Ukraine war quickly.
The Republican has been steadfast in his approach to making both Ukraine and Russia agree to a peace deal – but many fear any deal struck by the Don could favour Vladimir Putin.
These thoughts stem from recent comments from Trump who openly criticised the Ukrainian leader and branded him a “dictator”.
Trump also slammed Zelensky as a “modestly successful” comedian before blasting him for delaying elections during wartime.
The US president has openly admitted to being “very frustrated” with Zelensky – saying he had a “personal” problem with him.
Trump’s close pal Elon Musk later lashed out at Zelensky too as he labelled him as a “despised dictator” in a fiery social media rant.
The stern verbal rampage came after Zelensky argued Washington should careful when they negotiate with Moscow,
He felt betrayed by Trump after US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia to begin crucial peace talks – notably leaving out Ukraine.
The recent back and forth between the proud patriots is just the latest in a string of barbs each have thrown at each other.
2016: ZELENSKY TAKES AIM
The first time the pair are believed to have referenced one another came on a Ukrainian talk show featuring Zelesnky – then a star comedian – back in 2016.
Speaking about the lead up to that years US election, Zelensky made a comedic dig at the business tycoon turned Republican favourite.
He told TV viewers on the show: “Hillary won a confident victory in the debates, but considering that Donald Trump is the founder of the Miss World beauty contest, defeat in an intellectual competition should not upset him.”
Before he said the punchline: “Because he is probably betting on a swimsuit fashion show.”
2019: TRUMP’S TROUBLES
One of the first times the pair spoke came in 2019 as Trump phoned up Zelensky after he won the Ukrainian election.
Trump congratulated him before adding “you will do a great job”.
But his clear hostility towards Zelensky is also often traced back to the same year.
The Republican landed himself in trouble as he was impeached over allegations he withheld almost $400million in US security assistance to Kyiv unless it complied with Trump’s requests.
The main issue Trump had was Hunter Biden – the son of Trump’s future political foe Joe.
Complaints from Trump’s team ahead of the 2020 election saw them claim Biden had lobbied Ukraine to dismiss its top prosecutor to hamper an investigation into energy firm Burisma.
Hunter was a board member for the energy company at the time.
Just a few months later, Trump called upon Zelensky to “get to the bottom” of the allegations and launch an investigation to bring the Biden’s into disrepute before election day.
The claims have never been proven and no wrongdoing was ever found.
Trump was also acquitted by the US Senate in 2020.
It was later revealed that Zelensky had voiced his concerns over Trump’s pressuring nature regarding the allegations.
He was said to have issues over Trump and his associates pressing him to take action that could have had an affect on the 2020 presidential race, sources close to Kyiv said.
Images of the pair from a later date showed them both sat together in New York with an awkward look on their faces.
A reporter even quizzed Zelensky on the concerns during the joint visit as they both tried to play down the source’s remarks.
2019: BIZARRE PIANO SKIT
In 2019, Zelensky was sat front row as his former TV pals performed a New Years skit where they impersonated both Trump and Ukraine’s newly elected leader.
The short clip shows Trump on a video call to Zelensky as he passionately says: “I don’t like a lot of words, I like concrete actions.”
An overly exaggerated Trump then stands up and makes the bizarre move to pull down his trousers.
Moments later he appears to play Jingle Bells on a piano with his penis from inside the Oval Office.
The camera then pans to the real life Zelensky in the audience who can be seen cackling as he watches the performance.
2020: TRUMP’S X-RATED RANT
At the end of his first term in office, Trump reportedly ripped into Zelensky and Ukraine.
Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton said over five years ago that Trump wasn’t Zelensky’s biggest fan when he first became president.
Bolton quoted Trump as saying: “I don’t want to have any f***ing thing to do with Ukraine.
“They f***ing attacked me. I can’t understand why… They tried to f*** me. They’re corrupt. I’m not f***ing with them.”
Despite the claims, Trump has dismissed his ex top aide as a “wacko” and “grossly incompetent” in recent years.
2024: WAR TALK
Trump has repeatedly claimed if he was the president then the Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022 would have never happened.
Trump is known to have held a close bond with Putin that not many other global leaders have ever managed.
But when he was ousted by Biden, Putin went full steam ahead with his assault across the border – causing three years of bloodshed.
One of Trump’s main selling points during his impervious 2024 election campaign was how he would be able to end the war within “days”.
But Zelensky didn’t appear to agree with the Republicans clear goals.
Last September, he told the New Yorker magazine: “My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war, even if he might think he knows how.”
Three days later, Trump hit back on his campaign trail as he accused Zelensky of “making little nasty aspersions toward your favourite president, me”.
Before adding: “Any deal, even the worst deal, would have been better than what we have right now.”
The duo met up in New York that same month as they both came out of the meeting brimming with confidence that the war would end soon.
2025: TRUMP’S PUBLIC OUTBURST
As negotiations have continued over finding a peace deal in Ukraine, the relationship between the two have only worsened.
Their personal spats have spilled over into the public eye in recent weeks.
Zelensky has even been urged to flee Ukraine “immediately” amid escalating tensions between Washington and Kyiv, insiders in the White House warned.
A source close to the American President told the New York Post “the best case for [Zelensky] and the world is that he leaves to France immediately.”
Asked about the growing tensions between the US and Kyiv, another source close to the White House said the public spat was a long-time coming.
They said: “It’s nothing new to me.
“I heard months ago it’s time for an election and new leadership,”
The “real question is, has anyone told [Trump] they really, really like him?”
Donald is wrong
The Sun Says…
DONALD Trump’s smearing of the Ukraine regime as scam artists who provoked a war using US taxpayers’ money is a rant beneath the dignity of his office.
Almost nothing in it is true.
It reads like a post on a forum for conspiracy theorists. It is an unprecedentedly shocking statement from the President of the United States.
Vladimir Putin has made no secret of his imperialist ambitions, nor his denial of his neighbour’s right to exist as a sovereign, free country.
He invaded Ukraine, butchered and raped its people, stole its children and bombed its cities.
President Zelensky — far from duping anyone or inviting the conflict, far from being a “dictator without elections” — has been a heroic wartime leader who needs Western aid to overcome staggering odds.
The idea he is riding a “gravy train” is laughable. And his people, with whom he remains highly popular whatever Trump claims, have resisted conquest with immense bravery.
It is troubling and short-sighted in the extreme for the so-called leader of the free world to have no interest in a war raging in Europe because he is separated from it by the Atlantic.
America is not a business where Trump, as CEO, has no task except to slash costs and maximise profits. It is the most powerful democracy on Earth with global responsibilities and — let’s be frank — a duty to discern right from wrong with absolute moral clarity.
Others in the White House should urgently point this out.
Trump has also lashed out at Zelensky on social media and accused him of “refusing to have elections”.
He warned “modestly successful comedian” Zelensky must “move fast or he is not going to have a country left”.
Trump then claimed the Ukrainian president talked the US into “spending $350 billion dollars to go into a war that couldn’t be won”.
He also later insisted he “trusts” that Russia wants peace after branding Zelensky a “dictator without elections”.
Fears have even now grown that Trump may bypass Ukraine and continental leaders to do business directly with Moscow.
The UK and France have since suggested a peacekeeping plan that UK PM Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are set to propose to Trump in Washington next week.
It is said to involve putting up to 30,000 UK and European troops on the ground, an idea that Putin has said is “unacceptable.”
But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back against accusations that the Trump administration has given in to Russia, saying Washington first wants to see whether Moscow was “serious”.
He said: “US President Donald Trump “wants this war with Ukraine to end.
“And he wants to know: Are the Russians serious about ending the war, or not serious about ending the war?”
