US attacks on President Zelensky have only steeled Ukraine’s troops further — with a soldier telling The Sun: “F**k Trump, we’ll keep fighting.”
The US President was unrepentant last night as he justified freezing the Kyiv leader out of peace talks with Russia.
Donald Trump has been criticised for cutting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky out of peace talksEPA
Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Sokolenko says they will keep fighting with or without US supportThe Sun
And he tore into PM Sir Keir Starmer and French leader Emmanuel Macron, accusing both of doing nothing to stop the war.
Days before the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Donald Trump said of the Ukrainian president: “I don’t think he’s very important to be in meetings . . . he makes it very hard to make deals.”
The US President added: “I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards and you get sick of it . . . I’ve had it.”
The jibe dampened hopes of a cooling of tensions after US envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg praised Zelensky as a “courageous” leader.
Mr Zelensky has been reeling since Mr Trump branded him a “dictator” who has done a “terrible job” and locked him out of settlement negotiations.
The stakes were raised as Ukrainian military intelligence announced Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is preparing to declare victory against Mr Zelensky and Nato on Monday.
On social media platform Telegram, the HUR foreign service said the Kremlin has instructed media outlets to push narratives that “the West has betrayed Ukraine” and “neither Moscow nor Washington are concerned by the opinion of Europeans and Ukrainians”.
Ex-intelligence chiefs in Kyiv warned the move was a “bluff” calculated to deepen the rift in relations between the US and Europe.
A former Ukrainian intelligence chief told The Sun: “Putin will declare victory, but Ukraine cannot stop fighting while our territories stay occupied.
“When we continue the war, Putin will use this as an excuse to accuse Ukraine of breaking a ‘ceasefire’ we never agreed to — and legitimise firing more drones and missiles across the border.”
Meanwhile, Washington’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was “personally very upset at President Zelensky”.
Mr Rubio hit out at Kyiv for rejecting Mr Trump’s pleas to access rare earth minerals in exchange for military aid.
He said: “We discussed this issue about the mineral rights, and we explained to them, look, we want to be in a joint venture with you — not because we’re trying to steal from your country, but because we think that’s actually a security guarantee.”
European leaders are split over Donald Trump’s actions and aggressive wording towards ZelenskyGetty
At the Conservative Political Action Conference on the outskirts of Washington, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz insisted Mr Zelensky “will sign a mineral rights deal soon”.
He said: “Here’s the bottom line. President Zelensky is going to sign that deal, and you will see that in the very short term.”
The messaging from Mr Trump’s top team struck a different tone to the White House’s Ukraine envoy General Kellogg, who after visiting the country claimed to have had “positive discussions”.
Writing on X/Twitter, the General hailed Mr Zelensky as “the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war”.
In Europe, Sir Keir, Mr Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz continued to rally behind Kyiv.
But ahead of both the British and French leaders visiting the White House next week, the US President said on Fox News: “They didn’t do anything, no meetings with Russia. They haven’t done anything.”
While praising Mr Macron as a “friend” and Sir Keir as a “nice guy”, the tirade will be met with unease in Paris and London.
There is no other way to stop the bloodshed and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine except with the support of the United States.
Poland president Andrzej Duda
Next week, the PM will meet Mr Trump for the first time and is expected to present a “peace plan” offering up 30,000 British troops in Ukraine.
His Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “This is a critical moment in the history of Ukraine, Britain and all of Europe.
“That is why now is the time for Europe to double down on our support for Ukraine, in pursuit of peace through strength.
“On the battlefield we remain committed to providing £3billion of military support a year to put Ukraine in the strongest position possible, and being ready and willing to provide UK troops as part of peacekeeping forces if necessary.
“Off the battlefield, we will work with the US and European partners to achieve a sustainable, just peace, and in doing so, remaining clear that there can be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
Ukrainian president Zelensky has been described as a ‘dictator’ by Donald TrumpGetty
Russian president Vladimir Putin is continuing his barrage of drone strikes on the UkraineReuters
At a drinks reception for tech leaders in Kyiv, former Tory MP Jack Lopresti — who moved to Ukraine to join the military after losing his seat — said: “I’m incredulous at Trump.
“The UK is now in a unique position and we have to give a lead to our European allies to say that if Americans disengage, we are here. Ukraine must remain.”
Mr Scholz said that while it is too early to discuss peacekeeping missions, Mr Zelensky can “rely on Germany and Europe as a whole”.
But Poland’s President Andrzej Duda urged Mr Zelensky to continue “calm and constructive cooperation” with the White House.
He insisted: “There is no other way to stop the bloodshed and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine except with the support of the United States.”
War in Ukraine still rages on
Meanwhile, missiles continued to rain down on Ukraine across Thursday and Friday — despite the presence of Mr Trump’s Ukraine envoy in Kyiv.
Twelve civilians were killed and six were injured as 160 drones were fired by Putin’s army.
Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 87, but the remaining weapons left dozens of homes and infrastructure damaged in their wake.
In Kyiv, soldiers on a break from the frontline accused the US, “who we thought were our friends”, of abandoning the fight for Western democracy against a bloodthirsty dictator with whom their army pales in comparison.
Private Oleksandr Sokolenko said his army “thought the US were our friends”.
The soldier told The Sun: “Today I want to say f**k Trump. But it’s not a problem for Ukrainians because we’ve been betrayed so many times before.
“If you don’t need us, we will keep fighting.”
Turning to Britain, Oleksandr said his country needs “everything for fighting”.
He told The Sun: “We need cars and drones.”
The vast majority of Ukrainian power on the front line is now drones and the understanding among military chiefs and ministers in Kyiv is AI, innovation and technology will be key to winning.
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