“We long talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together at the team level, and Ukraine’s technological capabilities,” Zelenskyy said on X.
Donald Trump also said Wednesday that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy wanted “peace,” after the US president spoke to Russia’s Vladimir Putin about talks to end the Ukraine war.
“I just spoke to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The conversation went very well. He, like President Putin, wants to make PEACE,” Trump said on Truth Social, adding that Zelenskyy would meet US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Munich on Friday.
Trump alters US policy towards Ukraine
US President Donald Trump dramatically altered US policy toward Ukraine on Wednesday, announcing that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to start negotiations aimed at ending the ongoing conflict. The announcement came after a prisoner swap between the two nations.
In a social media post, US President Donald Trump revealed that he and Putin had a lengthy phone conversation in which they agreed to “work together, very closely” to bring the war to an end. Trump also stated that the two leaders might meet in person, potentially in their respective countries, to further these efforts.
It remains unclear how much Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be involved in these discussions.
The dramatic policy change follows a prisoner swap in which Russia released American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who had been detained for over three years, in exchange for Russian criminal Alexander Vinnik. Fogel, who had been arrested in 2021 for marijuana possession, was released following an intervention by the US government. Vinnik, a Russian national, was facing US charges related to cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering before being extradited.
Newly sworn in US President Donald Trump’s decision marks a stark departure from the previous Biden administration’s stance, which had emphasised the inevitability of Ukraine’s future NATO membership following Russia’s invasion in 2022. This shift also undermines former US President Joe Biden’s consistent message of “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” when it comes to international decisions regarding the conflict.
