Trump says 'it's time for elections in Ukraine' amid ongoing row with Zelenskyy

"It's wonderful to say, you know, we can't have an election, but it's time for elections, and it's also time to find out what happened with all the money, because he made the statement that half the money, he doesn't know where it is, or something like that," Trump said, referring to comments made by the Zelenskyy during a press interview earlier this month.

"And I can tell you, we're doing very well with Russia. We're going to do something with Russia that he was unable to do. We could make a deal with Russia to stop the killing of potentially additional millions of people," he added.

Ukraine was to hold elections in April 2024 when Zelenskyy's five-year presidential term ran out, but the country is currently under a state of martial law due to Russia's nearly three-year occupation in the country's east. The Kremlin has separately been occupying Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula since 2014.

The president's comments came after US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for the first high-level talks since Russia began its war on Ukraine in February 2022. The talks concluded with the delegations agreeing to hold additional rounds of discussions aimed at ending the war and improving bilateral ties.

Zelenskyy has bristled at not being included in the negotiations, as well as Trump's claims that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that began the ongoing war.

"We have seen this disinformation, and we understand that it originates from Russia. We have evidence that these figures are being discussed between American and Russian representatives. Unfortunately, Trump is trapped in this space of misinformation," Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

Trump shot back, calling Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections."

Asked by a reporter if he trusts the Russians to negotiate in good faith going forward, Trump said: "I do. I think the Russians want to see the war end."

"But I think they have the cards a little bit, because, you know, they've taken a lot of territory, so they have the cards," he said.

The president's comments about Zelenskyy allegedly not knowing where billions of dollars in US assistance has gone likely refers to an interview he gave to The Associated Press that was published on Feb. 2.

"When I hear, and I heard before, and today we hear from the United States of America that America gave Ukraine hundreds of billions, 177, to be more precise. That's what the exact figure sounded like, which was supported or voted by the Congress, etc. Look, as the president of a warring country, I will tell you that we received just over 75," he said, according to a clip of the interview that has English-language captions.

"That is, 100 billion of these 177 billion, or 200, some people even say, we have never received. And this is important, because we are talking about specific things," he said.

Congress has allocated some $175 billion to aid Ukraine's war effort, but much of that sum goes towards domestic and other spending outside of Ukraine. A summary of the spending compiled by the Council on Foreign Relations think tank indicates that of the total sum, roughly $106 billion went directly to Ukraine.

Trump further said he believes he can "resurrect" a critical minerals deal with Ukraine that would see them hand over ownership rights to rare earth and other minerals in the country in return for US military assistance, saying that he believes he can bring the agreement back into play while vaguely suggesting "things are not going to make" Zelenskyy "too happy."

"They agreed to it, more or less. And then Scott Bessent actually went there and was treated rather rudely, because essentially they told him no," Trump said, referring to a visit paid to Ukraine by his Treasury secretary this week.

"He went there to get a document signed, and when he got there, he came back empty. They wouldn't sign the document."