KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is counting on the Ukrainian and European unit and US pragmatism, as Kiev faces a growing crisis in relations with his hitherto main ally US, now under the leadership of President Donald Trump.
In a breakup, Trump said on Wednesday that Zelensky is one that should act quickly or would lose his country, an unthinkable rhetoric of a US leader for most of Russia’s total war, which has lasted three years.
Trump is pressuring a quick deal to end the war in Ukraine and alarmed Washington European allies by leaving them out of initial conversations with Russia, as well as A, and blaming Ukraine for the 2022 Russian invasion.
European leaders responded by promising to increase defense spending and some are considering the possibility of creating a US -backed European peace force for Ukraine, a plan that says it is a great reason for worry but that Zelensky greeted.
“We are keeping strong with our own legs. I am counting on Ukrainian unity, our courage… with the unity of Europe and the pragmatism of the United States, ”Zelensky told Ukrainians in a video speech on Wednesday night.
“Because the United States needs success as much as we are,” he added.
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The dispute with the US coincides with a visit to Ukraine from Keith Kellogg, the US envoy to Russia and Ukraine.
Zelensky told Ukrainians that he will meet Kellogg on Thursday. He said it was crucial that the meeting, as well as cooperation with Washington in general, is “constructive.”
Trump is trying to restore ties with Russia and also invest in Ukraine’s mineral resources, essential for energy transition, although Ukraine has rejected an initial US plan for not including safety guarantees.
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The Trump administration may try to close a simplified mineral agreement and then negotiate detailed terms, two people with knowledge of the subject to Reuters told Wednesday.
