Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is ready to step down as Ukraine’s president if it would bring peace to Ukraine.
“If there is peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready…I can exchange it for Nato,” Zelensky said during a forum in Kyiv on Sunday.
He added: “I am focusing on security today and not in 20 years’ time. I don’t plan to be in power for 10 years.”
The comments come after US President Donald Trump described Zelensky as a “dictator” for not holding elections, which are banned under martial law in Ukraine.
Sir Keir Starmer will fly to Washington this week ahead of a pivotal meeting with Trump at the White House on Thursday.
The Prime Minister has insisted that he will use the talks to reiterate his “ironclad support” for Ukraine and secure “enduring peace to bring an end to Russia’s illegal war”.
Trump has accused Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, who he will also be meeting in Washington on Monday, of doing nothing to help end the war.
“They haven’t done anything,” he told Fox News. “Macron is a friend of mine, and I’ve met with the prime minister, he’s a very nice guy … [but] nobody’s done anything.”
On Sunday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson backed Trump’s decision to phone Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month to start negotiations to end the war, but insisted “there can be no settlement” without involving Kyiv.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Phillipson said that Trump building diplomatic ties with Russia and Putin was “the right approach”.
“There can be no settlement, no negotiated peace, without Russia,” she said.
However, Phillipson added that “any lasting settlement where it comes to peace does require Ukrainian voices, President Zelensky’s voice to be a central part of that.
“There can be no settlement unless we have a negotiation involving both Russia and Ukraine.
“We are, however, also clear of the risk that Russian President Putin poses to our interest.”
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, said on Sunday that he met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a recent trip to Moscow.
He told CNN they had a “positive, constructive meeting”, stemming from the “positive relationship” between Putin and Trump during his first term.
“The only way you’re going to end the carnage is if you have a relationship with the leaders of both countries that are involved.”
Russia launched more than 200 drones into Ukraine overnight ahead of the three-year anniversary of Moscow’s invasion on Monday.
Writing on social media, Zelensky said 267 strike drones had been sent in what he called “the largest attack since Iranian drones began hitting Ukrainian cities and villages”.
Ukraine’s air force said 138 drones had been shot down over 13 Ukrainian regions, while 119 more were lost en-route to their targets.
Three ballistic missiles had also been fired, according to the air force.
One person was killed in a missile strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih, the local military administration said.
The US has requested access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, including lithium and uranium, “as compensation” for support already given to the war-torn nation.
Trump promoted the idea, saying that Ukraine “essentially agreed” to hand over its natural resources.
“I told them [Ukraine] that I want the equivalent like $500bn [£397bn] worth of rare earth,” the US President said. “And they’ve essentially agreed to do that so at least we don’t feel stupid.”
While Zelensky initially rejected the demands, he said on Sunday that “we are ready to speak about minerals” to America.
“We are ready to share,” he added, but said the US needs to make Putin “end this war”.
Witkoff said he expected Ukraine to sign a deal this week to give the United States access to its minerals.
“He’s not wavering anymore,” Witkoff said of Zelensky. “I think there’s a reason he’s not wavering.
“It’s because he realises that we have done so much and that that agreement belongs being signed.”
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