File picture of United States Vice-President J.D. Vance, second right, meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, third left, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany
| Photo Credit: AP

After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said U.S. President Donald Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space”, Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday (February 19, 2025) quickly admonished the Ukrainian about the perils of publicly criticising the new president.

Mr. Zelenskyy also said he would like Mr. Trump’s team “to be more truthful” as responded to a series of claims that Mr. Trump made a day earlier, including suggesting that Kyiv was to blame for the war, which enters its fourth year next week.

Mr. Vance told the Daily Mail that Mr. Zelenskyy’s criticism of Mr. Trump was not helping his cause.

“The idea that Zelenskyy is going to change the president’s mind by bad-mouthing him in public media, everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration,” Mr. Vance said.

Mr. Trump later said Mr. Zelenskyy should have worked out a deal earlier. “Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Vance and Mr. Zelenskyy met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where the U.S. V-P said that the U.S. wants “lasting peace” in East Europe.

Mr. Zelenskyy had hailed a “good conversation”, saying the encounter with Mr. Vance was “our first meeting, not last, I’m sure”.

“We are ready to move as quickly as possible towards a real and guaranteed peace,” Mr. Zelenskyy later wrote on X, adding that an envoy from Washington would visit Kyiv.

Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday (February 15, 2025) that he blocked a Donald Trump-led deal that would give the U.S. access to vast amounts of Ukrainian natural resources as it lacked “security guarantees” for Kyiv and “does not protect us”.

“I did not allow ministers to sign the agreement because it is not ready. In my opinion, it does not protect us. It is not ready to protect us, our interests,” Mr. Zelenskyy said during a briefing with reporters in Munich. He added the deal should be “connected with security guarantees” and that “I don’t see this connection in the document yet. It should be clear, it’s important”.

Zelenskyy warns U.S.

Mr. Zelenskyy on Saturday (February 15, 2025) insisted that no decisions should be taken on ending Russia’s war without Kyiv and Europe as the United States pushes to open talks with Moscow.

“No decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine, no decisions about Europe without Europe. Europe must have a seat at the table,” Mr. Zelenskyy told the Munich Security Conference.

U.S. President Donald Trump blindsided Ukraine and its European allies by agreeing this week to meet Russia’s counterpart Vladimir Putin to start talks on ending the conflict.

Mr. Zelenskyy has urged Washington to come up with a “common plan” to confront Russia but suggested there was no joint stance after a meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Friday.

“We cannot just agree to a ceasefire without real security guarantees, without pressure on Russia, without a system to keep Russia in check,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

Mr. Zelenskyy said that security guarantees needed to include powerful sanctions on Russia and measures to build up Ukraine’s army.

He said Kyiv was “open” to proposals to deploy European troops as peacekeepers on the ground but that he still needed to “discuss details” with his counterparts on the continent.

The Ukrainian leader said Washington appeared to be “preparing the atmosphere” for the dialogue between Trump and Putin.

But he warned that Mr. Putin would seek to use Mr. Trump as a “prop in his own performance” — possibly by trying to get him to Moscow for Russia’s WWII victory parade in May.

“We must apply pressure together — to make real peace,” Zelensky said.

“Putin cannot offer real security guarantees, not just because he is a liar but because Russia in its current state needs war to hold power together,” he said.

The Ukrainian leader said the Kyiv was still in the “process” of discussing a possible deal with Washington on granting access to rare earth deposits in return for security support.

In a broader message to Europe, Mr. Zelenskyy issued a rallying cry for the continent to “act for your own sake” as questions hover over U.S. backing in the face of the threat from Russia.

“Europe needs to come together and start acting in a way that no one can say no to Europe, boss it around, or treat it like a pushover,” he said, calling for a European army to be created.