Zelenskyy ready to work with Trump toward peace – DW – 03/04/2025

US Vice President JD Vance has clarified that his comments about a peacekeeping force from a “random country” were not directed toward French or British troops.

“I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond,” Vance said.

The US vice president was responding to criticism that followed his interview with Fox News on Monday.

Vance said in the interview that the best security guarantee for the Ukrainians would be to “give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine.”

“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years,” he added.

The comment drew immediate outrage since theUK and France have actively sought to bridge the gaps between the US and Ukraine amid their deepening rift.

Both British and French soldiers have fought alongside US soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, with UK shadow Defense Secretary James Cartlidge saying that, “It’s deeply disrespectful to ignore such service and sacrifice.”

“Obviously — and we appreciate this — the British and the French have offered to step up in a big way, that’s very, very important,” Vance told reporters later when asked about whether European peacekeepers could realistically be a part of a solution in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyyy also said on X that he was ready to sign “the agreement on minerals and security” at “any time” and in “any convenient format.”

“We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively,” Zelenksyy wrote.

The Trump administration has billed the minerals deal as a way to invest in Ukraine’s future but also to reimburse the US for aid it has provided to Ukraine over the last three years.

The deal has been seen as a precursor to a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Kyiv has pushed for US security guarantees as part of any agreement between the countries so Russia cannot break with the truce.

The US has given the Ukrainians more than $180 billion (€170 billion) in assistance since Russia launched an all-out war on February 24, 2022, including more than $66.5 billion in military aid.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy said it was “regrettable” that the meeting between him and US President Donald Trump last week at the White House panned out the way it did.

Trump scolded Zelenskyy on live television for not being grateful enough for US aid to Ukraine for the last three years, catching observers and allies off guard.

“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right,” Zelenksyy wrote.

The Ukrainian leader has since sought to move the conversation forward from the heated encounter, directly writing in his post that: “We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.” 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained his thinking in a post on X, writing that Ukraine was ready to “come to the negotiating table as soon as possible” to bring peace to his country battered by three years of war.

Zelenskyy’s lengthy post to X follows the Trump administration’s temporary pause on military aid to Ukraine, with the Ukrainian leader also praising the president for his “strong leadership.”

“Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts,” Zelenksyy wrote.

He outlined the first stages of what a potential agreement could look like, writing out some similar points floated by France and the UK last week. Both countries called for a partial truce on air, sea and energy infrastructure in Ukraine.

“The first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky — ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure — and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same,” he said.

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told Parliament that France would seek to rally “all possible means” to ensure support for Ukraine with other European nations.

Bayrou said American aid deliveries “are coming to a halt, as entire trains that were loaded for Ukraine are being stopped and prevented from reaching their destination.”

The French prime minister’s statement follows the US pause to military aid to Ukraine, with Trump administration officials saying that US authorities were “pausing and reviewing” its contributions to Ukraine.

The order applies to all US military equipment not currently in Ukraine, including weapons in transit in Poland, according to Bloomberg. 

John Foreman, formerly Britain’s defense attache to Moscow and Kyiv, has told DW that the US pausing all military aid to Ukraine was “predictable since the blowup on Friday” at the Oval Office.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump ended a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy with an outburst in which he accused Zelenskyy of ingratitude for previous US support.

Foreman said the US was trying “to blackmail Ukraine back to the table, to sign the minerals deal and then to acquiesce to Trump’s approach to peace.”

He described the US suspension of military aid as “morally reprehensible,” since “Russia carries on getting arms from North Korea and carries on attacking.”

He said the last time the US suspended aid to Ukraine amid political infighting in Congress, tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers died until a deal was reached after months of wrangling. 

Foreman said that the US move will allow Europe “to step up quickly to take the strain given the American cut,” and welcomed European Commission PresidentUrsula von der Leyen’s €800 billion defense plan, though he cautioned that Europe would need years to rearm.

Hungarian Prime MinisterViktor Orban said on Tuesday that he would meet French President Emmanuel Macron to talk about Ukraine on Wednesday.

The talks between the two leaders would take place ahead of an extraordinary summit of European Union leaders scheduled for Thursday, he said.

The meeting is likely to see a clash of views, with Macron an ardent supporter of European support to Ukraine as it fights the Russian invasion.

Orban, on the contrary, has maintained friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite Moscow’s invasion and has broken step with most other EU leaders by opposing sanctions and other penalties on Russia for its actions.

Orban also confirmed to a reporter that he had had a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Sunday, saying that they discussed “everything.”

On Saturday, Orban wrote in a letter to Antonio Costa, who heads the Council of the EU’s 27 member states, that the EU should follow “the example of the United States” and start “direct discussions with Russia on a ceasefire and sustainable peace in Ukraine.”

This comes after Trump blindsided US allies by calling Putin to discuss opening peace talks with Kyiv, provoking fears that the US president is ready to make territorial concessions to Moscow so that he can fulfill an election pledge to bring peace to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said he had discussed further cooperation with Germany in a call with likely future chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“We coordinated our positions and I appreciate his support,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.

He said that Ukraine highly values Germany’s efforts to restore European security and protect lives in his country. 

“We remember that Germany is the leader in supplying air defense systems to Ukraine and plays a crucial role in ensuring our financial stability,” he added.

That was the first post on Zelenskyy’s X account after President Donald Trump suspended US military aid to Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a US military aid pause was visible at the country’s logistics hub, which transfers weapons and humanitarian aid to neighboring Ukraine.

However, military experts say it could take time for the impact of missing US aid to be felt on the battlefield. 

When US aid was held up for several months last year by Republicans in Congress, the most notable initial impact was a lack of air defenses to shoot down incoming Russian missiles and drones.

Speaking at the press conference in Kyiv, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal noted the importance of US-made Patriot air defense systems. 

Shmyhal said there were risks over repairs, maintenance and ammunition supplies for the Patriots, which are the only system capable of repelling Russian ballistic missile attacks.

An aide to Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that Ukraine has already experienced prolonged suspensions of US military aid programs and has learned to adapt to such situations.

“Some solutions can be found on commercial markets. We are discussing options with our European partners. And, of course, we are not overlooking the possibility of negotiations with our American counterparts,” he wrote on X.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said his country would do everything necessary to withstand a full-scale Russian invasion, despite Donald Trump’s decision to suspend US military aid.
      
“We will do everything to hold out,” he told journalists at a press conference in Kyiv.

He also said that Ukraine’s military has the means to maintain the situation on the front line with Russian forces, but Kyiv will continue to work with Washington.

“We will continue to work with the US through all available channels in a calm manner,” Shmyhal stressed.

He also added that Ukraine was ready to sign a planned deal on extracting strategically important minerals with the US “at any time.”

Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski said Trump made the decision to suspend aid to Ukraine without consulting allies.

“This is a very important decision, and the situation is very serious,” Pawel Wronski told reporters.

“This sentence may sound banal, but it has great political significance — it (the decision) was made without any information, or consultation, neither with NATO allies, nor with the Ramstein group, which is involved in supporting Ukraine in its fight,” he added.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X that a sovereign, pro-Western Ukraine that can defend itself means a stronger and safer Poland.

The Kremlin has welcomed reports of the suspension of US military aid to Ukraine.

“The details remain to be seen, but if it is true, it is a decision that can actually push the Kyiv regime toward a peace process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

“It is obvious that the United States has been the main supplier of this war so far. If the United States stops being [an arms supplier] or suspends these supplies, it will probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace,” he added.

Peskov also said that any normalization of relations with the with the United States would require the lifting of sanctions against against Moscow.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a plan to “rearm Europe” that could “mobilize close to €800 billion ($841.4 billion) for a safe and resilient Europe.” 

According to von der Leyen, the plan will also help provide “immediate” military support for Ukraine.

Von der Leyen stressed the need to boost Europe’s defense capabilities following the London summit where European leaders gathered for Ukraine talks.

A Russian drone strike injured four people and damaged energy infrastructure in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa, causing power outages in the city and knocking out heating systems.

“A strike has damaged energy infrastructure,” regional Governor Oleh Kiper said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. “There are power cuts now in parts of the city.”

Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov said two injured people were hospitalized. The attack also damaged several apartment buildings and two private kindergartens.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said it shot down 65 out of 99 drones launched by Russia overnight.

Another 32 drones were “lost” and did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, the military added.