President Donald Trump said Friday he wants an “immediate” ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make peace or lose American support.
Trump says he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, is ready for a peace deal.
The statement comes after Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for being “disrespectful” in an extraordinary Oval Office meeting, then abruptly called off the signing of a minerals deal with the U.S.
Amid reports Trump is considering holding up further aid from U.S. to Ukraine, the president was quoted as saying a defiant Ukraine will lose without America's support.
Zelenskyy, for his part, says Ukraine won’t enter peace talks with Russia until it has security guarantees against another offensive.
Responding to Trump’s claim that Zelenskyy isn’t interested in peace, the Ukrainian leader told Fox News host Bret Baier that nobody wants to finish the war more than Ukrainians. But even if he gave an order to stop fighting, Zelenskyy said, “nobody will just stop” because everyone is afraid “Putin will come back tomorrow.”
“We want just and lasting peace,” Zelenskyy said.
He said the Oval Office spat with Trump was “not good for both sides” but he believes his relationship with Trump can be salvaged.
Later in the day, Trump repeated his earlier comments that Ukraine has a weak hand, saying “you can’t embolden somebody that doesn’t have the cards.” Without U.S. support, he said, Ukraine will lose.
“You saw what I saw today,” Trump said. “This is a man that wants to get us signed up and keep fighting. We’re not doing that.”
European leaders pledged late Friday to stand by Ukraine in the wake of the contentious Oval Office meeting.
Newsmax contributed to this report.