KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s president has few options after last week’s astonishing Oval Office row with U.S. President Donald Trump, who berated the wartime leader. Now Ukraine’s future could depend on whether Volodymyr Zelenskyy can repair his relationship with the White House.
The heated conversation that played out live on television looms over all American support for Ukraine and could shape the country’s war against the Russian invasion.
American officials have said that they want an apology from Zelenskyy, who has maintained his cool in public appearances since the episode and leaned into European support while also rebuffing calls from U.S. officials to resign. He has even expressed optimism about continued U.S. support.
As European partners rally around Zelenskyy, Western officials in Kyiv acknowledge that the durability of any peace plan will depend on U.S. military backing.
Zelenskyy has said he is still ready to sign a lucrative minerals deal with Trump that could be the first step toward a ceasefire. Since Friday’s confrontation, there has been communication between Ukraine and the administration but not between the two presidents.
Meanwhile, Trump is scheduled to address Congress on Tuesday with a speech that will offer him an opportunity to outline his vision for ending the war.
“I’m sure that this situation will pass, and there are more important things ahead. And if we all continue to be constructive, then, I think, we will have a positive result,” Zelenskyy told reporters Sunday after a meeting of European leaders in London. “Positive — if my understanding here is correct — positive is when we are bringing peace for Ukraine closer, all of us.”
Signing the deal with the Trump administration for a portion of Ukraine’s natural resources would have paved the way for more agreements on the future of American military aid and the terms of an armistice with Russia. Now all of that is uncertain.
Saving the U.S.-Ukraine relationship
Oleksandr Kraiev, an analyst at the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Prism foreign policy think tank, said the first step to salvaging U.S-Ukraine relations is “to re-establish personal contacts with Trump’s people and with Trump himself,” even though ”it will be hard psychologically.”
“Yes, the situation is quite dire. We see a lot of bad prognosis,” he said. “It’s not an apocalyptic scenario for us. The relations can be reestablished, not because Ukrainian diplomacy is far superior or because Zelenskyy is a great communicator, but because there is still an economic interest for Trump here in Ukraine.”
“As for saving the relationship,” Zelenskyy told reporters over the weekend: “I think our relationship (with the U.S.) will continue because it’s more than a relationship of one moment or another. We have to be open.”
Ukraine is “ready to continue the dialogue,” he said. “We want to count on new aid.” U.S. officials have called for Zelenskyy to express gratitude for U.S. support, something the Ukrainian president has regularly done since the full-scale invasion began early in 2022.
“America is a democracy. The president is not the only power. Congress matters. Voters matter. Mass media and public opinion. We should work with them,” Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko said.
