Ukraine must get to front of line with Trump ahead of Putin, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to get in front of U.S. President Donald Trump before his Washington counterpart arranges to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“It is very important, otherwise it will look like a dialogue about Ukraine without Ukraine. It is still important for partners to discuss their issues first, and then have a conversation with the enemy,” Zelenskyy told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

U.S. support has since been critical for Ukraine as it has mounted its fight to push back against invading Russian forces since the all-out invasion began in 2022, when then-U.S. president Joe Biden was in the White House.

The new administration has sent mixed signals on how U.S. policy could shift under Trump’s watch. Some of his officials have signalled their support for hitting Russia with stronger sanctions, while the new U.S. Secretary of State has said Ukraine can’t recover all territory under Russian control.

While campaigning for president, Trump repeatedly claimed he could bring the war in Ukraine to an end within 24 hours. More than two weeks into his second presidency, that hasn’t happened.

It’s still not precisely clear how the U.S. leader would act to try to force an end to the fighting — though some see a potential for change with a new president in the Oval Office.

John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told Times Radio he’s “cautiously optimistic” that the Trump administration will be able to achieve “a sustainable peace” — but potentially not one that sees all of the Russian-occupied territory returned.

“Their stated objective is a sustainable peace, not necessarily a just peace,” he said.

‘I’m here’ 

In Washington on Friday, Trump said he would “probably” meet with Zelenskyy in the coming week, though it wasn’t clear if that would be a face-to-face conversation or one conducted remotely.

“I’m here,” the U.S. president said, when asked where that meeting could be held. 

Trump, who spoke to reporters in Washington alongside visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said he would not be travelling to Ukraine.

The U.S. president also expressed interest in meeting with Putin, referencing the “good relationship” he believes the two have long had. Putin offered flattering words

to Trump in the days after he won the U.S. election last November.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, stressed the need for patience on the issue of when Putin will talk to Trump.

Should that happen, it’s expected that the two leaders will discuss Trump’s desire to see the Ukraine war end sooner rather than later.

“Russia is open to negotiations. In any case, a settlement should come as a result of negotiations,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

Minerals, Ukraine and U.S. support

It emerged this week that Trump wants Ukraine to provide the U.S. with rare earth minerals as a form of payment for the support provided for Ukraine’s fight with Russia.

The idea had been floated to Trump last year, and Zelenskyy has signalled it’s a conversation to which Ukraine is open — provided that security guarantees are part of any such deals with allies.

“If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” he told Reuters on Friday.

Zelenskyy said less than 20 per cent of Ukraine’s mineral resources — including about half its rare earth deposits — are under Russian occupation.

Trump points to human toll

Russia launched its all-out invasion of its neighbour on Feb. 24, 2022, which Putin cast as a “special military operation,” rather than a war.  After nearly three years of fighting, Russia occupies almost one-fifth of Ukraine, but has failed to topple the government in Kyiv.

The war has been costly for Ukrainian civilians and soldiers alike: Zelenskyy recently said that more than 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed while defending Ukraine, while the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine estimates that more than 12,500 civilians have been killed since the start of the all-out invasion through the end of 2024.

The true death toll may be higher than what is being stated, but the conflict’s human toll is something Trump has previously highlighted when criticizing the war.

“I’d like to see it end, just on a human basis,” Trump said in Washington on Friday. “I’d like to see that end. It’s a ridiculous war.”