Former US Diplomat Questions Trump's Attacks on Zelensky as Tensions Rise: ' I Don't Know What He Hopes to Get By That'

A former US diplomat who was in charge of relations with Russia during the George W. Bush administration questioned President Donald Trump's motives to call his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator without elections" and blame him for Russia's invasion as geopolitical tensions continue to rise.

"Where is he going with this?" said Thomas Graham, who was in charge of US-Russia relations at the National Security Council during the mentioned Republican government. "I think he's misrepresenting the situation in Ukraine, and I don't know what he hopes to get by that. Is this a way to sort of prepare the ground for the American public to accept basically a capitulation to Putin?" added Graham, now working at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Concretely, Trump warned Zelensky on Wednesday, saying he should "move fast" on negotiations or "he is not going to have a country left." "In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only "TRUMP," and the Trump Administration, can do," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.

Zelensky, in turn, accused Trump of being influenced by Russian disinformation, prompting the fiery response from Trump, in which he attacked Zelensky's leadership and questioned his legitimacy.

Trump's comments echoed Kremlin rhetoric, as he claimed that Zelensky had overstayed his term and refused to hold elections. However, under Ukrainian law, elections cannot be held while the country is under martial law due to the ongoing Russian invasion, as per the Daily Mail.

Like Graham, some Republican elected officials also questioned Trump's approach, even if they moderated their criticism or wondered if it's all part of a negotiating strategy.

Senator Kevin Cramer from North Dakota was among those who challenged the statements, saying Trump is "factually wrong." However, he sought to bring nuance, saying it could all be part of a negotiating strategy. "As a negotiator, he's always positioning," Cramer said, as reported by POLITICO.

Others who issued similar statements are Rep. Don Bacon, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Thom Tillis, who visited Ukraine the past weekend. "There is no equivalency between Vladimir Putin and President Zelensky," Tillis said. "President Putin is evil, and he has to be stopped."

Thune, on his end, said "there's no question who started the war," adding that "Russia's the aggressor here, there's no question about that, and hopefully we can find a path forward." "The war has gone on three years now, and I'm hopeful that the discussion will lead us to some sort of agreement that will bring the war to an end."

Democrats came to criticize Trump over his handling of the relations, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal calling his comments a "disgusting betrayal" of Ukraine.

"What world is he living in?" Blumenthal said. "It is not only contrary to the facts and the truth but utterly despicable, a disgusting betrayal of a country that has bled and fought and died for freedom. The president's surrender is pathetic and weak."