Ukraine war briefing: US tussles with Kyiv over UN vote on third anniversary of invasion

The US is pressuring Kyiv to ditch its draft UN resolution condemning Russia’s war in the country, ahead of a vote on Monday to mark the conflict’s third anniversary, AP reports, citing an unnamed US official and European diplomat. The Trump administration is urging countries to back its rival resolution and vote against Ukraine’s, which demands Russia withdraw its troops and halt hostilities, Reuters reports. A draft text of the US resolution calls for a “swift end” to the conflict but makes no reference to Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he would be willing to resign in exchange for peace or Nato membership, telling reporters he doesn’t plan to stay in power for decades. “But we won’t let Putin stay in power over Ukrainian territories either,” he said Sunday.

He made his remarks just hours after Russia launched its biggest ever aerial attack on Ukraine, using 267 drones, killing at least four people across the country. Kyiv echoed with the booms of anti-aircraft fire as crews spent the night trying to shoot the drones down.

Zelenskyy also said he would not bow to pressure from Washington to hand over $500bn worth of Ukraine’s minerals, adding: “I’m not signing something that 10 generations of Ukrainians are going to pay later.” Around $350bn worth of Ukraine’s critical resources are in areas captured by Russia, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, told reporters.

Zelenskyy also revealed the Trump administration was asking Ukraine to pay back $2 for every $1 of military aid the US provides Ukraine going forward – an interest rate of 100%.

The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, will separately meet Trump early this week and have agreed to show “united leadership in support of Ukraine”.

EU and world leaders are heading to Kyiv on Monday to show their support for Ukraine and Zelenskyy, and discuss security guarantees. Among those expected to attend are the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, European Council president, António Costa, and European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.

EU leaders will also meet on 6 March for a special summit “to take decisions” on Ukraine and European defence, Costa said, as pressure mounts on European nations to boost defence spending.

Meanwhile, US and Russian officials are planning to meet again at some point in the next two weeks, Russian state news agency RIA reported over the weekend, citing the deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov.

Russian government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov supported comments made by Trump about Zelenskyy – such as calling the Ukrainian leader a dictator – as “understandable” after Zelenskyy made “inappropriate remarks” about Trump. Zelenskyy had accused Trump of being “trapped” in a Russian “disinformation bubble.”

Despite Zelenskyy’s growing frustration with the Trump administration, he repeated his hopes in keeping the US allied with Ukraine, and to be included in any peace talks. “We would really like it as a priority for the US to first talk to us, then to Russia.” He added, “it is not possible to decide anything about Ukraine without us.”