Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene launched a sharp attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday night, accusing him of deliberately undermining peace efforts between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Georgia congresswoman responded to reports of major Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian territory just hours before the scheduled Alaska summit.
Ukraine carried out multiple drone strikes into Russia overnight Thursday, causing damage to several apartment buildings in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and injuring more than a dozen civilians. According to acting governor Yuri Slyusar, two of the wounded were hospitalized in serious condition. The attacks also hit other Russian regions, with local officials reporting three injured in Belgorod and at least one death in the village of Pristen.
According to Fox News, Greene claimed that Zelenskyy “doesn’t want peace and obviously is trying to sabotage President Trump’s heroic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.” The Republican lawmaker, who has faced criticism for her controversial positions and statements in the past, responded to social media reports describing the Ukrainian operation as “one of the largest” drone attacks on Russia in recent months. She added that she prays “peace prevails” despite the escalating violence.
Trump-Putin summit moves forward despite rising tensions
President Trump and Russian President Putin are still scheduled to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday for what officials describe as high-stakes discussions about ending the Ukraine war. The meeting represents Putin’s first visit to the United States since 2015 and the first U.S.-Russia summit since June 2021. The Alaska location was chosen as symbolically neutral ground and to provide security away from major population centers.
The Ukrainian strikes came after Russian attacks in Ukraine’s Sumy region the previous night, which resulted in multiple injuries, including a 7-year-old girl. This pattern of back-and-forth attacks has continued even as diplomatic efforts intensify. Putin praised the United States on Thursday for making “sincere efforts” to end the conflict, saying America was making “quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop hostilities, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties.”
On the eve of the historic peace talks between President Trump and President Putin, Zelensky does this.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Zelensky doesn’t want peace and obviously is trying to sabotage President Trump’s heroic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
I pray peace prevails!https://t.co/gJWN3T520Q
(@RepMTG) August 15, 2025
European leaders have expressed concern about Ukraine being excluded from the Alaska talks. In a joint statement over the weekend, leaders from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland, and the European Commission insisted that “the path in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.” Trump indicated his priority would be to arrange a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy after the initial discussions, provided there were acceptable terms.
Zelenskyy has pushed back against suggestions that Ukraine should make territorial concessions to Russia. The Ukrainian president accused Russia of not being sincere about ending the war, stating that “at present, there is no sign that the Russians are preparing to end the war.” He emphasized that pressure must be placed on Russia “for the sake of a just peace” and warned against Russian deception in any negotiations.
Greene’s criticism of Zelenskyy fits with her previous stance against U.S. support for Ukraine, though her recent relationship with Trump has become more complicated. The congresswoman has been one of the few Republicans willing to publicly disagree with Trump on foreign policy issues, including Ukraine aid and military actions abroad. She publicly accused Trump of betraying his own 2024 campaign commitment to reduce U.S. involvement in foreign wars by sending more weapons to Ukraine.
Her latest comments appear to align more closely with Trump’s diplomatic efforts. Someone seems to have realized that she is simply siphoning off the cult-loyalty Trump enjoys and can’t muster any for herself, especially not when she is openly attacking their idol.
Zelenskyy just unleashed his largest drone attack against Russia to date the night before Putin is meeting for peace talks.
— Based Bandita (@MissVega8888) August 15, 2025
Donald Trump should pull every single penny of funding, demand all of our weapons back, and let him fend for himself
The White House has described Friday’s meeting as a “listening exercise” rather than expecting immediate breakthroughs. Trump warned earlier this week that there would be “very severe consequences” if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire during their discussions. The president has suggested that any eventual peace deal might involve some form of “land swapping” between the two countries, though specific details remain unclear.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Ukrainian embassy seeking a response to Greene’s accusations, but no official statement has been released. The timing of the Ukrainian strikes, just hours before the planned summit, has raised questions about whether they were intended to strengthen Kyiv’s position in future negotiations or, as Greene suggests, to complicate the diplomatic process. The Georgia representative’s track record of inflammatory statements has made her a polarizing figure in discussions about foreign policy and international relations.
