Washington, March 4, 2025 – US president launches fresh attack on Zelensky over ‘worst statement’ following disastrous White House meeting
US President Donald Trump hit out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday for suggesting that the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine is likely to be “still very, very far away”.
The comments come as prominent Trump allies escalate pressure on Zelensky to dramatically change his approach to the US president, who has made quickly ending the war a top priority, or step aside.
Trump took issue with Zelensky suggesting it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war. The Ukrainian leader also tried to offer a positive take on the US-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week’s White House meeting.
Asked by a reporter about the outlines of a new European initiative to end Russia’s war, Zelensky said: “We are talking about the first steps today, and, therefore, until they are on paper, I would not like to talk about them in great detail.
“An agreement to end the war is still very, very far away, and no one has started all these steps yet.”
But Trump was only further irritated by Zelensky’s suggestion it will take time for the conflict to come to a close.
“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 Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added in his post. “What are they thinking?”
Zelensky took to social media soon after Trump’s latest criticism. He did not directly refer to Trump’s comments, but underscored that it “is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible”.
“We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns,” Zelensky added. “We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security.”
Trump’s national security adviser said Zelensky’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office talks “put up in the air” whether he is someone the US administration will be able to deal with going forward.
“Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?” Mike Waltz said on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom earlier on Monday. “And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?”
Waltz added another layer of doubt about US support as other high-profile Trump allies have suggested that the relationship between Trump and Zelensky is becoming untenable.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday that Zelensky “needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country” for Ukraine to continue pursuing a peace deal negotiated by the United States.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally who has been a vociferous supporter of Ukraine, said soon after the Oval Office meeting that Zelensky “either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”
