Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday he aims to end the war in his country "as soon as possible," while U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of Zelenskyy’s stance on a cease-fire.
"It is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war as soon as possible," Zelensky said in a post on social media, adding that he was hoping for U.S. support "on the path to peace."
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Washington would "not put up with" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s rhetoric much longer, as he prepared to meet with top advisors following a heated Oval Office confrontation with the Ukrainian leader.
"This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer," Trump wrote on social media, referencing a report quoting Zelenskyy as saying the war with Russia was far from over.
"This guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing," Trump added.
He also criticized European leaders who met with Zelenskyy in London over the weekend for crisis talks, saying they "stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S."
"Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
During the meeting, Trump and Vance raised their voices, accusing Zelenskyy of being ungrateful and disrespectful for U.S. military assistance, as the Ukrainian leader pushed for U.S. security guarantees as part of any cease-fire deal with Russia.
Zelenskyy was eventually told to leave the White House, and a key agreement that would have granted Washington preferential access to Ukraine’s mineral resources was left unsigned.
Trump was meeting with his top advisors Monday to discuss the administration’s next steps on Ukraine, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told reporters.
White House officials declined to confirm a report by Axios that Trump was considering cutting all military aid to Kyiv in the wake of the dispute.
Meanwhile, European leaders, who have proposed sending peacekeepers to Ukraine but seek a U.S. "backstop" for any cease-fire, met in London on Sunday in an effort to defuse tensions.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone Monday with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to discuss the London talks.
Rubio "confirmed the United States is ready to negotiate to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict and will continue working with the UK towards peace in Ukraine," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
Meanwhile, Germany's likely next chancellor said Monday that Trump deliberately escalated a heated exchange with Zelenskyy, a move that has unsettled Kyiv’s allies.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the center-right CDU/CSU alliance, said Friday’s confrontation at the White House made it almost inevitable that Germany would need to increase its own defense spending.
He expressed hope that an agreement on boosting military funding could be reached this week as part of ongoing coalition talks to form a new government.
"According to my assessment, this was not a spontaneous reaction to what Zelenskyy was saying but clearly a deliberate escalation," Merz said at a news conference, calling the tone of the clash "unhelpful."
However, he noted that the Trump administration’s stance was in line with comments made by Vice President J.D. Vance last month, in which he urged Europe to "step up" in managing its own security while criticizing European countries on various cultural issues.
Trump and Vance’s remarks on Friday, which included demands that Zelenskyy be "thankful" for U.S. support and “make a deal” with Moscow, have raised concerns among European allies about Washington’s commitment to Ukraine.
