On Sunday, the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Volodymyr Zelensky declared that he would be willing to step down as president of Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv’s inclusion in the NATO military alliance.
The incoming US administration has been harshly critical of Zelensky, who has stated that he wants to meet with Donald Trump before the US president talks with Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart. As part of any agreement to stop the war, Zelensky has been demanding that Ukraine be admitted to NATO, but the Washington-led alliance has been hesitant to commit.
Zelensky and Trump have been engaged in a war of words since US and Russian officials met last week in Saudi Arabia for their first high-level talks in three years. The move shook the West’s policy to isolate the Kremlin and infuriated Ukrainian and European leaders as they were not invited.
In a series of verbal attacks over the last week, Trump has branded Zelensky a “dictator”, falsely claimed Ukraine “started” the war and said, contrary to independent opinion polls, that Zelensky was unpopular at home. Zelensky said he was not “offended” by Trump’s comments and was ready to test his popularity in elections once martial law ends in Ukraine.
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