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The rift between Washington and Kyiv over a potential ceasefire in the war with Russia grew larger on Monday as Donald Trump expressed new outrage at Volodymyr Zelenskyy for saying that the end of the war could be “very, very far away”.
In a post to social media on Monday, Trump posted a link to an Associated Press story outlining Zelenskyy’s comments and said: “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!”
“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 US,” Trump continued.
“Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” he said. “What are they thinking?”
The exchange followed a French proposal for a partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine, as European efforts to bolster support for Kyiv accelerate in the face of uncertain US backing.
The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said on Monday: “Such a truce – on air, sea and energy infrastructure – would allow us to determine whether Vladimir Putin is acting in good faith” and gauge his attitude to “real peace negotiations”.
Zelenskyy had said that he believed a peace with Russia was far off in an interview in which he also expressed optimism about Ukraine’s partnership with the US, saying: “I think our relationship (with the US) will continue, because it’s more than an occasional relationship.”
Those remarks followed a blow-up in the Oval Office where Trump accused Zelenskyy of “gambling with” a third world war and told the Ukrainian president to come back “when he is ready for peace”.
Fox News on Monday reported that a minerals deal between Ukraine and the United States that Trump claimed would provide some security guarantees to Kyiv would not be signed “until Zelenskyy goes in front of cameras and makes an explicit public apology for the way he behaved in the Oval Office with that meeting”.
Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron have sought to act as intermediaries between Zelenskyy and the White House as relations between Kyiv and the White House appear to be at the breaking point.
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Donald Trump’s remarks came as he planned to convene top White House officials on Monday to discuss next steps, which included reviewing the European proposal but also potentially considering a cutoff in aid to Ukraine, according to reports in the New York Times and other US media. Those set to join the briefing include the national security adviser, Michael Waltz, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the secretary of defence, Pete Hegseth.
Waltz briefly took questions on Ukraine while walking towards the West Wing. He declined to say whether the US would accept the European proposal but welcomed the efforts by Macron and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. “We welcome the Europeans taking a lead in European security,” Waltz said. “I mean that’s been an underpinning. They have to invest in the capability to do that. They’re certainly showing a will.”
Trump allies continued to pile pressure on Zelenskyy over the weekend, with several suggesting the Ukrainian president should consider resigning in order to provide a way forward for negotiations. Rubio and Waltz were considered to be the most hawkish of Trump’s cabinet on Russia, but have fallen in line with his and JD Vance’s criticisms of Ukraine as tensions have escalated.
Speaking to Fox on Monday morning, Waltz did not say Zelenskyy should resign, but when asked whether Zelenskyy was fit to lead Ukraine said: “What happened Friday really put that up in the air.”
