Australia stands by Ukraine, says premier after Trump calls Zelenskyy a ‘dictator’

Australia Thursday reiterated Canberra's support for Kyiv after US President Donald Trump called Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator."

"Australia stands with Ukraine in their struggle, which is a struggle not just for their own national sovereignty, but it's a struggle to stand up for the international rule of law," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters.

Meanwhile, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles called Russia the "aggressor" in the war between Moscow and Kyiv.

Zelenskyy is not a "dictator" and "this conflict can only be resolved on Ukraine's terms," Marles told Sky News.

Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton also weighed in on the US president's remarks, which he called were "wrong."

Trump called the Ukrainian president a "dictator" and "modestly successful comedian" who "talked" the US into "the war that can't be won."

Trump also called on Ukraine to hold presidential elections after the US engaged in peace talks with Russia that have so far excluded Kyiv.

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.

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 the nearly three-year-long war since February 2022.