The Ukrainian president delivered his first public remarks since the Trump administration paused military aid Monday night.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed regret over last week’s clash with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House and has pledged to sign a minerals deal with the United States.
Zelenskyy, in his first statement since the Trump administration said it would pause military aid to Ukraine amid its war with Russia, said that Ukraine does not want “an endless war” and that “nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.”
“We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence,” the Ukrainian leader wrote in a statement, released on social media platform X. “And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this.”
During the meeting with Trump and Vance, both the president and vice president admonished Zelenskyy over comments that he made as well as his attitude toward their efforts to end the war. Trump later said that he would continue to deal with Zelenskyy once the Ukrainian leader expresses a desire to end the war with Russia.
“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. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive,” Zelenskyy wrote, adding that he wants to sign a rare earth minerals deal with the United States and be part of peace talks with Russia.
Zelenskyy’s comment were made just hours after Trump directed a pause of U.S. assistance to Ukraine.
Ukraine has relied on U.S. and European military aid to hold off its 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 Ukrainian cities.
Trump, meanwhile, has said that he wants to end the war in Ukraine and said he believes the death toll on both sides is far higher than what has been officially confirmed. Before the election, Trump said he would end the war in 24 hours, but his administration has since signaled that it could take months.
After the pause in U.S. military aid, Europeans indicated they are racing to boost their own military spending and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday unveiled proposals to boost spending on defense in the EU. She said the move could mobilize up to 800 billion euros ($840 billion). The EU is holding an emergency summit on Thursday.
Since Russia’s invasion three years ago, the U.S. Congress has approved $175 billion in total assistance for Ukraine, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state-run media outlet TASS the U.S. decision that stopped aid to Ukraine “could encourage” Kyiv to “lean toward attempts to resolve the situation by peaceful means.”
Trump suggested on Monday that a deal to open up Ukraine’s minerals to U.S. investment could still be agreed upon. The deal was meant to be signed in Washington on Friday before Zelenskyy departed the Oval Office early following the breakdown in talks.
“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format,” Zelenskyy said. “We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”
In an interview on Fox News, Vance called on Zelenskyy to accept the deal.
“If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” Vance said.
Reuters contributed to this report.