'Massive demolition site' — Trump claims Ukraine in ruins while pressing Zelensky to hold elections

Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 18 that he believes Ukraine should hold new elections, as the country has become a "massive demolition site" under President Volodymyr Zelensky's wartime leadership.

Trump's comments come after U.S. and Russian officials earlier in the day met in Saudi Arabia — without Ukraine — to discuss strategies for ending the full-scale war.

Ukraine should hold elections because Zelensky holds a "4% approval rating," Trump alleged without evidence while speaking to reporters on Feb. 18.

Recent polling from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology shows that as of December 2024, 52% of Ukrainians trust Zelensky.

The Kremlin has pushed the narrative that Zelensky is an illegitimate leader in its propaganda to discredit the Ukrainian government. The false claim is based on the premise that Zelensky's first term in office was originally meant to end on May 20, 2024.

Under the Ukrainian consitution, elections cannot be held during martial law, which went into effect after Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Trump distanced himself from the Russian narrative, claiming that it was his personal opinion that Ukraine should hold elections.

"That's not a Russia thing. That's something coming from me," he said.

Trump went on to describe the destruction of Ukraine in exaggerated terms, falsely claiming that the majority of its cities had been "blown to smithereens."

"I don't know how anybody even lives there," he said.

Instead of condemning Russia for launching daily attacks against Ukraine for nearly three years, Trump appeared to lay the blame in part on Zelensky's government.

"You have leadership now that's allowed the war to go on," he said.