ZELENSKY is refusing to sign Donald Trump’s deal on the Ukraine war in the latest twist in the bitter feud between the two leaders, sources have said.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky is reportedly not ready to accept the “problematic” offer from the US.
The deal proposed by Trump’s team would see Kyiv hand over billions of dollars of minerals to Washington DC in exchange for weapons.
It is a seen a sweetener as the White House right now appears to be determined to freeze out Ukraine from peace negotiations with the Russians.
And it comes as the split between the US and Ukraine is widening, with some White House officials raging Zelensky would be “six feet under” without them.
Trump has ordered US officials to deal directly with the Kremlin – seeing Zelensky as “not important”.
Ukraine have however been having talks with less senior US officials – led by Trump’s war hero envoy General Keith Kellogg – to seek a mineral deal that could be a key part of peace talks.
Kellogg has been striking a tone which has broken by the furious stance of the Trump White House, which has taken to branding the hero war leader a “dictator”.
Trump and his team had talked up a deal last night, with his national security adviser Mike Waltz saying the “bottom line” was Zelensky would sign.
Kyiv officials are however standing firm, reports Sky News, with some sources saying US and Ukrainian officials had spent “all night” negotiating on Thursday into the early hours of Friday.
A source said: “The agreement is not yet ready to be signed, there are a number of problematic issues, and in the current form of the draft, the president is not ready to accept it.
“Today, the drafts do not reflect a partnership in the agreement and contain only unilateral commitments by Ukraine.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Is this Zelensky comedy clip a trigger for Trump & Musk’s Ukraine fury?” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6369146395112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Washington officials – led by Trump’s public comments – are seemingly increasingly scathing about Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president has been accused of overplaying his hand in negotiations with Trump and alienating key allies.
A senior White House Official said: “Zelensky is an actor who committed a common mistake of theatre kids: He started to think he’s the character he plays on TV.
“Yes, he has been brave and stood up to Russia.
“But he would be six feet under if it wasn’t for the millions we spent, and he needs to exit stage right with all the drama.”
‘WE CREATED A MONSTER’
The White House view is that Zelensky grew too accustomed to unwavering support under former President Joe Biden, including billions in military aid and NATO backing.
Now, Trump’s inner circle believes the Ukrainian leader has overstepped, reports Axios.
“We created a monster with Zelensky,” another administration official said.
“And these Trump-deranged Europeans who won’t send troops are giving him terrible advice.”
Zelensky has already clashed with multiple senior figures in Trump’s government.
“In the course of a week, Zelensky rebuffed President Trump’s treasury secretary, his secretary of state and his vice president, all before moving on to personally insulting President Trump in the press,” one official said.
“What did Zelensky think was going to happen?”
Despite the hostility, Trump’s team is still negotiating a mineral-rights deal as part of a proposed peace agreement.
‘NOT VERY IMPORTANT’
Tensions hit a new high after Trump dismissed Zelensky’s importance in peace talks.
“I don’t think he’s very important to be in meetings,” Trump told Fox News.
“He’s been there for three years. He makes it very hard to make deals.”
Speaking at the White House on Friday, Trump doubled down, saying: “I’ve had very good talks with Putin, and I’ve had not such good talks with Ukraine.”
The US President also blasted Zelensky’s wartime leadership, callig him a “modestly successful comedian” who must “move fast or he is not going to have a country left.”
PUTIN PRAISES TRUMP
Russian President Vladimir Putin wasted no time seizing on the growing US-Ukraine rift, praising Trump for “changing his position” once he began to “receive objective information”.
The Kremlin dictator welcomed this week’s peace talks between Russian and US officials in Saudi Arabia, calling them the “first step” toward restoring Washington-Moscow ties.
Meanwhile, Trump’s Ukraine peace envoy, war hero Keith Kellogg, broke ranks to publicly back Zelensky.
The decorated military veteran, dubbed Trump’s ‘Special K’, met with hours after Zelensky slammed Trump for living in a “Russian disinformation bubble”.
Zelensky hit back, accusing Trump of falling for Kremlin propaganda and being “trapped in a disinformation space.”
[boxout headline=”You are wrong, Donald” featured-image=”33484210″]The Sun Says…
DONALD Trump’s smearing of the Ukraine regime as scam artists who provoked a war using US taxpayers’ money is a rant beneath the dignity of his office.
Almost nothing in it is true.
It reads like a post on a forum for conspiracy theorists. It is an unprecedentedly shocking statement from the President of the United States.
Vladimir Putin has made no secret of his imperialist ambitions, nor his denial of his neighbour’s right to exist as a sovereign, free country.
He invaded Ukraine, butchered and raped its people, stole its children and bombed its cities.
President Zelensky — far from duping anyone or inviting the conflict, far from being a “dictator without elections” — has been a heroic wartime leader who needs Western aid to overcome staggering odds.
The idea he is riding a “gravy train” is laughable. And his people, with whom he remains highly popular whatever Trump claims, have resisted conquest with immense bravery.
It is troubling and short-sighted in the extreme for the so-called leader of the free world to have no interest in a war raging in Europe because he is separated from it by the Atlantic.
America is not a business where Trump, as CEO, has no task except to slash costs and maximise profits. It is the most powerful democracy on Earth with global responsibilities and — let’s be frank — a duty to discern right from wrong with absolute moral clarity.
Others in the White House should urgently point this out.