Getty ImagesUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wants the US to “stand more firmly on our side” after his fiery White House exchange with US President Donald Trump.
After arriving in the UK to take part in a European leaders’ summit, Zelensky urged the US to continue its support for Ukraine despite “the tough dialogue” between the two sides.
Zelensky, Trump and US Vice-President JD Vance interrupted each other during Friday’s clash in the Oval Office. Trump told Zelensky to make a deal with Russia “or we are out” and Vance accused him of being ungrateful.
European leaders rallied behind Zelensky, but Nato’s secretary general said he must “find a way” to restore his relationship with Trump.
As he landed in the UK, Zelensky published a thread of 14 posts on X in which he reiterated calls for US security guarantees to form part of any “just and lasting” peace deal to end the war with Russia.
He noted that Trump wanted to end the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, but added that no-one wanted peace more than Ukraine.
The ill-fated White House meeting was intended to precede the signing of a deal to give the US access to Ukraine’s deposits of rare earth minerals. Instead, Zelensky was told to leave early before it could be signed.
Trump later told reporters that Ukraine’s president “overplayed his hand” in the exchange and that he would need “to say ‘I want to make peace'” to restart talks with the US.
On Saturday, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to sign the minerals agreement as “the first step toward security guarantees” from the US – a line he has maintained for days, but which Trump has refused to agree to.
“But it’s not enough, and we need more than just that,” he added. “A ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine.”
He added: “All Ukrainians want to hear a strong US position on our side. It’s understandable the US might look for dialogue with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.
“But the US has always spoken about ‘peace through strength.’ And together we can take strong steps against Putin.”
In Russia, the Kremlin’s foreign ministry spokeswoman called Zelensky’s visit to Washington a “complete diplomatic failure of Kyiv”.
Maria Zakharova said the Ukrainian president is “obsessed” with prolonging the war, and repeated Russia’s insistence to annex all territories currently occupied by Russia.
Ahead of the London summit, where European leaders will further discuss efforts to secure a peace deal, Zelensky will meet with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – who “retains unwavering support for Ukraine”.
BBC News understands King Charles III is also due to meet Zelensky on Sunday, at the request of the UK government.
Senior political figures from across Europe have also rallied behind Ukraine after Friday’s extraordinary scenes in the US.
The leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands were among those who posted social media messages backing Ukraine – with Zelensky responding directly to each one to thank them for their support.
French President Emmanuel Macron posted: “There is an aggressor: Russia. There is a victim: Ukraine. We were right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago – and to keep doing so.”
Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote that “no-one wants peace more than the citizens of Ukraine”, with his replacement-in-waiting Friedrich Merz adding that “we stand with Ukraine” and “we must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war”.
Speaking to the BBC on Saturday, Nato chief Mark Rutte said he had spoken to Zelensky twice following the White House meeting, and told him “we have to respect” what Trump has done for Ukraine so far.
He referenced the first Trump administration’s approval for the sale of Javelin anti-tank missile systems allowed Ukraine to “fight back”.
Putin launched the war two years after Trump had left office.
Russia has been making slow gains on the battlefield for months.
In the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, officials said that 12 people, including two children, were injured in a “massive” overnight drone strike, a short while after Zelensky left the White House.
The casualties included four female patients at a hospital in the city centre. Residential buildings, pharmacies, cafes and shops were also been damaged, the Ukrainian prosecution service said.
Friday’s conversation soured after the US Vice-President JD Vance – who was sitting alongside other politicians in the room – told Zelensky that the war had to be ended through diplomacy.
Zelensky responded by asking “what kind of diplomacy?”, referencing a previous ceasefire deal in 2019, agreed three years before Russia’s full-scale invasion when Moscow was supporting and arming separatist fighters in Ukraine’s east.
The vice-president then accused Zelensky of being disrespectful and “litigating” the situation in front of the media.
