Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's political future must be left up to the people of his country, not determined by those in the United States calling for his resignation, retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told Newsmax Sunday.
"It's clear that he is under a lot of pressure from his own political party inside of Ukraine because of the mineral deal, which may have been an excuse for Zelenskyy or a reason for Zelenskyy to try to stand tough against President Trump," Kimmitt told Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda."
This means that the Ukrainian leader was "quashed like a sandwich between the Americans and his own parliament."
Zelenskyy, Kimmitt added, "made a wrong mistake" in how he handled the meeting in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, where he demanded security guarantees before agreeing to a mineral rights deal with the United States.
"Should he step down? That's really up to the people of Ukraine," said Kimmitt.
His comments come after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told NBC News' "Meet the Press" Sunday that Zelenskyy "needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country" so that a peace deal negotiated by the United States can continue.
“President Trump is trying to get these two parties to a point of peace," the Louisiana Republican added. "What President Zelenskyy did in the White House was effectively signal to us that he’s not ready for that yet, and I think that’s a great disappointment."
Kimmitt also said Sunday that he agrees with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said in an ABC News interview that Trump is pushing for peace through strength and to bring the war to an end through diplomacy rather than continuing to send money while people keep getting killed.
"What's really getting hung up in this entire conversation is this demand for security guarantees," said Kimmitt. "Rubio is right. First, let's have the negotiation. First, let's bring a ceasefire."
There is also a question looming about whether Americans want to send their sons and daughters to fight in Ukraine against Russia.
"I think most Americans would say no, but that's a different question that's in front of us right now," he said. 'The question in front of us right now is, How do we stop the fight? How do we start the negotiations? How do we start rebuilding of Ukraine in terms of what happens after the war? That's going to be a tougher question, but that doesn't need to be addressed now. Stopping the fighting needs to be what's addressed now."
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