Mar 05,2025: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he wants to “make things right” with President Donald Trump to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine after the US leader suspended military aid to Kyiv.
Zelenskyy on Tuesday said his clash with the US president last week was “regrettable” and called for a partial truce as a first step to securing an end to Russia’s three-year-long war.
“Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. 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,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
He said Ukraine was ready to agree to a “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.”
The statement came after Washington paused military aid to Kyiv in a stunning move overnight, days after Zelenskyy’s talks with Trump in the White House descended into acrimony, prompting the US secretary of state to call on the Ukrainian leader to apologise.
“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,” Zelenskyy posted on X.
“We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence,” he said.
Trump had suggested on Monday that a deal to open up Ukraine’s minerals to US investment could still be agreed. The deal was meant to be signed in Washington on Friday before Zelenskyy departed after the Oval Office bust-up.
Zelenskyy said in the statement that he was ready to sign an agreement “any time and in any convenient format”.
Ukraine has relied on US and European military aid to hold off a bigger and better-armed foe throughout three years of warfare that has killed and injured hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides and flattened some Ukrainian cities.
The pause also puts more pressure on European allies who have publicly embraced Zelenskyy since the Oval Office blow-up.
Europeans are now racing to boost their own military spending and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday unveiled proposals to boost spending on defence in the EU, which she said could mobilise up to 800 billion euros ($840bn). The EU is also holding an emergency summit on Thursday to discuss the defence package.
The Kremlin, for its part, has said cutting off military aid to Ukraine was the best possible step towards peace, although it was still waiting to confirm Trump’s move.
