London – The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressed his gratitude for years of American support in a statement that ends a tumultuous week of transatlantic diplomacy that saw a dramatic and public break with the administration of President Donald Trump.
Zelenskyy framed the scope of this week as the beginning of a longer process that can result in a peace agreement to end the invasion of his three -year country in Russia. “There will be many meetings and joint efforts in the next few days and weeks,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted on the presidential website.
“There will be a diplomacy for peace,” he added. “And for the good of all of us together: Ukraine, all of Europe and necessarily America.”
Zelenskyy’s fiery meeting with Trump and vice president JD Vance demonstrated the divergence in the Ukrainian and American visions of the Russian war, guilt for which Trump has been repeatedly and falsely attributed to Kyiv, while seeking to undermine Zelensky’s legitimacy.
The protesters join the city center to show their support to Ukraine on March 2, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Russian officials held the disastrous meeting. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told State Television on Sunday that Trump’s administration is “quickly changing the” US “foreign policy configurations, placing them” largely in line with our vision. “
In his Sunday statement, Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainians “understand the importance of the United States, and we are grateful for all the support we have received from the United States. There has not been a single day that we have not felt grateful. Because this is gratitude for the preservation of our independence.”
“We need peace, not an endless war,” he added. “And that is why we say that security guarantees are the key to this.”
Zelenskyy attended a summit of European leaders in London on Sunday. The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he had agreed with Trump and French president Emmanuel Macron that the United Kingdom and France would work with Ukraine to formulate a peace plan that will later be presented to the United States.
Starmer described a plan that includes the continuation of the aid flows to Ukraine and the maintenance of economic pressure on Russia. The prime minister said that any lasting peace agreement must guarantee the sovereignty and security of Ukraine, and that kyiv must be at the negotiating table.
In the case of an agreement, Starmer said that Europe will continue to help Ukraine militarily to deter any future military action of Russia. He also said that there will be a “coalition of the provisions” to help defend Ukraine.
Starmer said the United Kingdom is ready to support the plan with boots on the floor and airplanes in the air. He said he also recognizes that not all countries can do this type of commitment.
Starmer emphasized that any agreement will need a strong support from the United States to succeed.
The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Prime Minister of Britain, Keir Starmer, and the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, embrace after holding a meeting during a summit in Lancaster House in downtown London, United Kingdom, on March 2, 2025.
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Zelenskyy said Sunday that they had received a “clear support from Europe”, informing “the even greater unity, even an even stronger preparation for cooperation” of their weekend meetings.
“Everyone is united at the main point, so that peace is real, real security guarantees are needed,” said the president. “And this is the position of our entire Europe, of the entire continent.”
“In the near future, everyone in Europe will shape our common positions: the lines we must achieve and the lines in which we cannot compromise,” said Zelenskyy. “These positions will be presented to our partners in the United States.”
“The robust and lasting peace, and the right agreement at the end of the war are really our shared priority,” he added.
Patrick Reevell of ABC News contributed to this article.
