Zelensky ‘ready to work’ under Trump leadership to get peace

Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he is “ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership” to end the war with Russia.

The Ukrainian president has called for a “truce in the sky” and a “truce in the sea” if Russia agrees to the same and said it is “time to make things right” after his clash in the Oval Office with Donald Trump last week.

Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Mr Zelensky on Tuesday afternoon, Number 10 said.

It comes after it emerged the Prime Minister had spoken to Mr Trump about the need to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine just hours before the White House paused military aid to Kyiv on Monday.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Zelensky said: “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.

“We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky — ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure — and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same.

“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal.”

He said that Ukraine is “ready” to sign a minerals deal” and said the Washington meeting “did not go the way it was supposed to be”.

“It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive,” he said.

Downing Street had earlier revealed on Tuesday that the Prime Minister and the US president spoke on Monday night.

At around midnight reports emerged from Washington indicating Mr Trump was halting the flow of arms to Mr Zelensky’s country in the latest sign of tensions between the US and Ukrainian presidents.

Downing Street said the conversation had focused on “progress towards securing a lasting peace in Ukraine”.

The conversation on Monday night followed phone calls with Mr Trump over the weekend and the Prime Minister’s visit to Washington last week.

Ministers insisted Sir Keir would not be “blindsided or bounced” by Mr Trump’s actions over Ukraine.

The White House suspended delivery of ammunition and other equipment to Kyiv, announcing overnight that assistance is being “reviewed” to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution”.

It comes after a clash in the Oval Office between Mr Zelensky and the US leader last Friday left bilateral ties between the two nations in tatters.

Speaking on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said Sir Keir remains “laser-focused” on securing a lasting peace for Kyiv and would not be “derailed” in those efforts.

“We are absolutely focused on making sure that we get that peace and the security guarantees as part of that,” she said.

“We won’t be derailed or sidelined by commentary, ongoing commentary, but that we will use our relationship, our long-standing relationship, with the US and our European allies to support Ukraine and President Zelensky in getting that peace deal and making sure those securities are part of that.”

Allies led by Britain and France have spent recent days scrambling to find a way forward following the row, which ended with Mr Zelensky leaving the White House empty-handed despite plans to sign a minerals deal with the US.

The Prime Minister’s own trip to Washington last week appeared to have gone as well as No 10 could have hoped, with Mr Trump indicating he would not block the Chagos Islands deal and suggesting a trade agreement could spare British exports from US tariffs.

He is seeking to act as a bridge between America and Europe in efforts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine amid fears that Kyiv and its allies will continue to be excluded from negotiations over its future after Mr Trump opened talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Ms Rayner denied the Government is acting as if it is “business as usual”, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s a very serious moment and I think the Prime Minister has been very serious about the way he has conducted himself.”

Ms Rayner added: “He’s laser-focused on getting peace.

“He won’t be derailed by announcements. He will continue that dialogue with our oldest and strongest ally, the US, and with European partners and with Ukraine.”

Ms Rayner told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that the halt in military aid was “a matter for the US president” but the UK would be an “honest broker”, working with both the White House and European allies.

“We won’t be blindsided or bounced from the focus of getting peace for Ukraine with those security guarantees,” she said.

Earlier on Tuesday, US vice president JD Vance also heightened his criticism of the Ukrainian president, accusing him of “needling” Mr Trump and having a “certain sense of entitlement”.

“He showed a clear unwillingness to engage in the peace process that President Trump said is the policy,” he told Fox News.

“That’s the real breakdown. I think Zelensky wasn’t yet there. And, frankly, still isn’t there. But I think he’ll get there eventually, he has to.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the UK and Europe must “rearm faster” following the “profoundly worrying” US announcement.

She said: “The news overnight that America is halting military aid to Ukraine is profoundly worrying.

“It is clear that Britain and Europe must rearm much faster if we want to provide Ukraine with more than just warm words of support.

“We must work to keep America in, and Russia out.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey appeared to suggest the White House decision had humiliated figures like Sir Keir, who has been insisting there is common ground between the UK and US in the pursuit of peace.

“By suspending all military aid to Ukraine, Donald Trump has humiliated the people who pretended he was a reliable ally only in search of peace,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tory MP and former minister Graham Stuart said it was time to consider whether the US president was a Russian asset, adding: “If so, Trump’s acquisition is the crowning achievement of Putin’s FSB career – and Europe is on its own.”

Malcolm Chambers, deputy director general at defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute, said: “The nightmare scenario is that the US announces a deal soon that accepts most of Russia’s demands, and then tells Ukraine to ‘take it or leave it’.

“The European offer of ‘boots on the ground’ after a deal has helped reassure Ukraine.

“But the debate has now moved on. And what will count most of all is how far the UK and Europe are prepared to help Ukraine in defiance of the US.”