German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has categorically rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is a “dictator.”

"To say that President Zelensky lacks democratic legitimacy is simply wrong and dangerous," Scholz emphasized in an interview with Der Spiegel on February 19.

"The reality is that Volodymyr Zelensky is the legitimately elected head of state of Ukraine. The fact that proper elections cannot be held during wartime is in accordance with Ukraine’s constitution and electoral laws. No one has the right to claim otherwise," the German chancellor added, as reported by Deutsche Welle.

Scholz also reminded that “it was Russia, under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, that started the war against Ukraine.”

"Ukraine has been defending itself against relentless Russian aggression every single day for almost three years," he noted.

Trump’s remarks about Zelensky were also criticized by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Vice Chancellor, Minister of Economy Robert Habeck.

"If we avoid hasty posts on social media and look at the real world, it’s clear who is truly living under dictatorship in Europe—unfortunately, that’s the people of Russia and Belarus," Baerbock said in an interview with the public broadcaster ZDF.

"The people of Ukraine fight daily for their free democracy, and we, as Europeans, support their path toward the European Union to strengthen our democratic states together," she added.

"The U.S. president’s statement is shocking. It is an unprecedented distortion of reality and an extremely dangerous rhetoric. The reality is that the dictator Putin attacked democratic Ukraine," Robert Habeck wrote on X.

Donald Trump called on Volodymyr Zelensky to hold presidential elections in Ukraine, claiming that his support had allegedly dropped to four percent. In response, Zelensky dismissed Trump’s statement as "false information" originating from Russia. During a press conference, the Ukrainian president cited a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, showing that as of February 2025, 57% of citizens trust him.

Former U.S. official John Bolton also harshly criticized Donald Trump’s recent statements about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the ongoing conflict in the country. Bolton described Trump’s remarks in his X microblog as “some of the most disgraceful statements ever made by a U.S. president.”

He emphasized that “U.S. support for Ukraine is not just a matter of goodwill but a strategic necessity directly tied to national security.” According to Bolton, “ensuring internal stability requires the U.S. to maintain its strength and influence on the global stage, making support for Ukraine a priority.”

Trump’s criticism followed an earlier statement by Zelensky, in which the Ukrainian leader claimed that Trump had fallen into Russia’s "distorted information space." This came after Trump alleged that Zelensky’s presidency was illegitimate because elections had not been held in Ukraine.