Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised US President Donald Trump for spreading misinformation, saying he “lives in a disinformation bubble.” His comments came in response to Trump’s claim that Zelensky’s approval rating is just 4%.

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“Unfortunately, President Trump, who we respect as the leader of the American people, exists in a space filled with disinformation,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv, blaming Moscow for misleading him.

Also read: Putin and Trump could meet before end of February, says Kremlin: Report

Trump, calling for elections in Ukraine despite martial law, said on Tuesday, “He’s down at four per cent approval rating.”

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Zelensky dismissed this, saying the figure “comes from Russia.” He also added that he does not usually comment on popularity ratings but noted that recent polling shows 58% of Ukrainians trust him.

“If someone wants to replace me right now, that will not work,” he said.

He also warned about widespread Russian disinformation, which he believes is being shared with the US. To counter such narratives, he said he would investigate collecting more data on global leaders’ trust ratings. According to him, “the misinformation circle around President Trump” includes figures linked to the Hungarian and Slovak governments.

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Also read: Russian leaders are 'pathological liars': Zelensky says they can't be trusted and 'must be pressured

Criticism of US-Russia talks

Zelensky also took issue with recent discussions between the US and Russia, saying Washington had helped President Vladimir Putin “come out of isolation.”

“This isn’t positive for Ukraine. What it does is put the focus back on Russia, and they are happy about that,” he said.

He also pushed back against Trump’s claims that most of Ukraine’s support comes from the US.

“The truth is somewhere else,” he said, while still expressing gratitude for American aid.

Also read: Trump blames Zelensky for Ukraine's war with Russia: 'You should have never started it'

Zelensky further dismissed Trump’s assertion that the US had given Ukraine $500 billion and rejected the idea of Ukraine repaying through rare mineral deals.

“That is not a serious conversation,” he said, but added that he is open to discussing a formal agreement if it includes “security guarantees.”

“OK, let’s do a deal. Let’s share [resources], depending on the investment … but we need security guarantees,” he said.

Calls for clearer US support

Zelensky criticised US representatives in Riyadh for referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “conflict” rather than an outright war. “This softens it,” he said, adding that he had similar discussions with the previous US administration, where he had to push back against efforts to downplay the war.

“There was an attempted shift in policy to soften the language describing what Putin is doing against us. We are standing up for Ukraine’s rights here. There’s nothing terrible about that, but we must recognise what is happening,” he said.

Also read: Trump says he will ‘probably’ meet Putin this month; dismisses Ukraine's concerns

Strengthening European support

Zelensky said he had delivered “a strong message” to European leaders in recent meetings and that further discussions, including in the UK, were planned in the coming weeks. The focus, he said, was on “what Europe is prepared to do to help Ukraine if there is a reduction in US assistance.”

Frustration with NATO

The Ukrainian leader also expressed frustration over NATO’s reluctance to provide security guarantees. “We want security guarantees this year. We want to end the war this year,” he said, arguing that NATO should be the guarantor of any peace deal.

“I understand that every time I mention NATO, some don’t even want to hear the word, but this is where we are,” he added.

(With inputs from agencies)