President Donald Trump says the Ukrainian leader’s assessment that the end of Russia’s war with his country “is still very, very far away” is “the worst statement” he could have made and that “America will not put up with it for much longer!” After Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy engaged in a heated exchange in the White House last Friday, they sparred again Monday from a distance about a possible end to the conflict. Zelenskyy offered his opinion that the war was unlikely to end soon as he left London Sunday night after winning wide support from European leaders for continued military assistance for Kyiv’s forces and said he expected the same from the United States, Ukraine’s biggest arms benefactor. “I think our relationship [with the U.S.] will continue, because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” Zelenskyy said. “I believe that Ukraine has a strong enough partnership with the United States of America” to keep aid flowing. But Trump balked at Zelenskyy’s conclusion, saying on the Truth Social media platform Monday, “It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S.” “Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump said, “What are they thinking?” Zelenskyy later said on X, “It is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest [as] possible.” “We are working together with America and our European partners and very much hope for U.S. support on the path to peace,” Zelenskyy said. “Peace is needed as soon as possible.” Trump has pushed to end the fighting, which has killed or wounded several hundred thousand Russian and Ukrainian fighters, along with Ukrainian civilians, but Zelenskyy has expressed fears that Trump is attempting to settle the conflict on terms more favorable to Moscow than Kyiv. Russia currently holds about a fifth of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory and has been slowly capturing more land in fighting in eastern Ukraine. No peace negotiations have been scheduled. Zelenskyy also said Sunday his country remained ready to sign a rare earth minerals deal with the U.S., and that he believes he can salvage relations with Trump. The two sides were expected to sign an agreement last week during Zelenskyy’s visit, but the arrangement fell apart after the heated exchanges with Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Zelenskyy said Sunday that Ukraine counts on U.S. aid in its fight against Russia’s three-year-old invasion. “I think stopping such assistance will only help [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Zelenskyy said. “And because of that, I think that the United States and representatives of the civilized world, leaders of this world, definitely won’t help Putin.” Trump cast Zelenskyy as ungrateful during their Friday meeting and had sought the minerals deal to reimburse the United States for the billions of dollars in aid it has provided to Ukraine. Trump has promoted the need to end the war and has held a phone call with Putin in addition to senior U.S. officials meeting with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia to discuss the first stages of a potential peace deal without Ukrainian officials involved in the talks. Trump said Sunday on Truth Social: “We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country – So that we don’t end up like Europe!” But after seeing Zelenskyy’s comment about peace prospects, Trump quickly pivoted back to assailing the Ukrainian leader. That followed the talks Sunday in London during which British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told 18 allies that with the United States wavering in its support for Ukraine, Europe finds itself “at a crossroads in history.” The British leader said that with no guarantee of U.S. involvement to act as a backup military support for would-be peacekeeping forces, “Europe must do the heavy lifting” in securing peace in Ukraine. Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, told reporters Monday, “We welcome the Europeans taking a lead in European security. … They have to invest in the capability to do that. They’ve certainly shown a will.” But Waltz said White House officials remain perplexed why the U.S.-Ukraine minerals mining deal fell apart, saying Zelenskyy “could have been left with an economic guarantee that would have benefited Ukraine, and I think the world, for a generation. So, it’s really confounding to us why we had kind of such hostility coming in.” Unlike in Washington, Zelenskyy was warmly embraced at the summit by many of the European heads of state, along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NATO chief Mark Rutte. Zelenskyy supporters rallied outside Starmer’s residence in support of Ukraine. As the leaders gathered Sunday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned, “We urgently have to rearm Europe” and “prepare for the worst” on the continent. Starmer, when he first greeted Zelenskyy on Saturday, unveiled a $2.84 billion loan agreement to support Ukraine’s defense capabilities, to be paid back with the profits of immobilized sovereign Russian assets. Starmer said Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States. The Kremlin said in remarks aired Sunday that the United States’ dramatic shift in Europe foreign policy toward Russia is largely aligned with Moscow’s vision. “The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Russian state television that was recorded last Wednesday. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
