Unlock the White House Watch newsletter at no cost
Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said for the primary time that he’s willing to step down as Ukraine’s president if the move secured Nato membership or lasting peace for his country.
“If it brings peace for Ukraine, if you happen to really want me to go away my post, I’m ready. I can exchange it for Nato [membership],” Zelenskyy told reporters at a press conference in Kyiv on Sunday. “If such conditions exist [I will step down] immediately.”
“I’m specializing in security today and never in 20 years’ time . . . I won’t be in power for many years,” Zelenskyy said ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine on Monday.
The startling offer to step down, while improbable given the dim prospects of Nato accession, is an indication of the acute pressure on the Ukrainian leader because the US hurries to hatch a peace take care of Moscow.
The Trump administration has made several concessions to Russia, including agreeing to normalise relations after bilateral talks in Saudi Arabia last week, while excluding Nato membership for Ukraine.
Trump described Zelenskyy last week as a “dictator” while blaming Kyiv, somewhat than Moscow, for starting the war.
Russia launched its biggest drone strike against Ukraine on Sunday, firing 267 drones against multiple targets across the country.
Ukrainian officials say Washington can also be attempting to strong-arm Zelenskyy into signing a deal that might award the US large amounts of the proceeds from extracting Ukrainian mineral deposits.
US officials presented Kyiv last week with a plan to channel as much as $500bn in proceeds from resource extraction right into a fund that might be 100 per cent owned by the US. Trump has described the plan as repayment for previous US military aid.
Zelenskyy pushed back against the Trump administration’s demands.
“I do know we had $100bn [of assistance from the US] but I’m not going to acknowledge $500bn, irrespective of what anyone says,” Zelenskyy said. “I’m not going to sign something that ten generations of Ukrainians shall be paying for.”
Zelenskyy also rejected an assertion by US treasury secretary Scott Bessent in an op-ed for the Financial Times that a minerals “partnership” with the US would strengthen Ukraine’s security.
Zelenksyy challenged “a certain logic” in Washington that the presence of US firms would deter further Russian aggression, stating that several US businesses had operations in Ukraine when Russia first attacked in 2014.
“This doesn’t provide a 100 per cent guarantee that the Russians won’t return to places that [US companies] have entered,” Zelenskyy added.
Zelenskyy has said that Nato membership for Ukraine is the final word security guarantee against future Russian military aggression. However the Trump administration has poured cold water on the thought, with US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth saying on the Munich Security Conference last weekend that he did “not consider that Nato membership for Ukraine is a sensible consequence of a negotiated settlement”.
He also ruled out deploying US troops in Ukraine after the war with Russia ends, which Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he would love to see as a part of a deal on rare and significant minerals that his administration is negotiating with the White House.
The Trump administration has argued that a deal would fuel postwar growth within the country, but Kyiv has pushed back. Zelenskyy said on Sunday that, because it is proposed now by Washington, it could be too costly and wouldn’t provide adequate security guarantees.
Zelenskyy said he was convinced Trump “desires to end this war and can help us to do this” but was also apprehensive that the US president would present a mere ceasefire as “great success”.
“We would like to ensure security for our people,” he said.
