Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he told Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy his country needs a “reliable and clear system of security guarantees” before a peace deal can be struck with Russia.
Ukraine’s president met with retired US Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg in Kyiv on Thursday as political tensions deepened between the two countries.
The event was originally supposed to include comments to the media by both parties, but it was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity as neither side delivered statements or questions from the media.
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The change was requested by the US side, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nikiforov said.
The trip came after feuding between Mr Zelenskyy and the US president, who labelled his Ukrainian counterpart “a dictator without elections”.
Despite this, Mr Zelenskyy said his talks with Mr Kellogg “restores hope”.
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In his nightly address, Ukraine’s president said: “We need strong agreements with the United States – agreements that will truly work. I gave instructions to work swiftly and very sensibly.
“Economy and security must always go hand in hand, and the details of the agreements matter – the better they are structured, the greater the results.
“With General Kellogg, we discussed the frontline situation, the need to release all our prisoners held in Russia, and the necessity of a reliable and clear system of security guarantees – one that ensures this war will never return and that Russians will never again destroy lives.”
White House avoids blaming Russia for war it launched
During a White House briefing on Thursday, national security adviser Mike Waltz said “some of the rhetoric” coming out of Kyiv and “insults to US President Donald Trump were unacceptable”.
His comments were in response to Mr Zelenskyy accusing his US counterpart of living in a “disinformation bubble” after Mr Trump blamed Ukraine for the war.
When asked if Mr Trump blames Russia or Ukraine for the war – which was launched by Moscow in February 2022 – Mr Waltz would not give a direct answer.
Instead, he said Mr Trump is “obviously very frustrated” with the Ukrainian leader.
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“Well, look, his goal here is to bring this war to an end, period,” he said, referring to Mr Trump.
“And there has been ongoing fighting on both sides. It is World War One style trench warfare.”
He went on to insist Mr Trump is the best person to negotiate with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, despite concerns the US will force Ukraine into concessions after kicking off talks this week without Europe or Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Trump ally Elon Musk claimed that Mr Zelenskyy “is despised by the people of Ukraine, which is why he has refused to hold an election”.
He added that Mr Trump is “right to ignore him” and Kyiv’s “disgusting, massive graft machine feeding off the dead bodies of Ukrainian soldiers”.
In recent days Mr Trump has wrongly claimed Mr Zelenskyy has an approval rating of just 4% in Ukraine – despite recent polling which showed it is at 57%.
Mr Zelenskyy has delayed elections while the war continues and Ukraine remains under martial law.
Has Russia got an ‘appetite’ for peace?
European leaders, including the UK government, have reacted strongly to the way Mr Trump has begun talks.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK will be a “bridge” between the US and Europe during Ukraine peace negotiations, adding he doubted whether Russia had “an appetite to really get to that peace”.
“That peace could be achieved by leaving Ukraine tomorrow,” he said after a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in South Africa.
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French President Emmanuel Macron, who is due to meet with Mr Trump in Washington on Monday, said he would tell
the president not to be “weak” on Mr Putin.
He also spoke with Mr Zelenskyy to discuss recent diplomatic efforts between European partners and allies, ahead of his visit to the US.
Russian officials, meanwhile, are basking in Washington’s attention and offering words of support in light of Mr Trump’s stance.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “the rhetoric of Zelenskyy and many representatives of the Kyiv regime in general leaves much to be desired” – a veiled reference to Ukrainian criticism of Mr Putin.
The divisions between Ukraine and the US come as it nears three years to the day that Russia launched its invasion.
Moscow’s army crossed the border on 24 February 2022, in an all-out invasion that Mr Putin sought to justify by saying it was needed to protect Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from joining NATO.
