Upon his arrival into Brussels for a summit of European leaders today (6 Mar), Volodymyr Zelenskyy released an update about the situation in Ukraine whilst seemingly alluding to his White House row with Donald Trump.
Speaking at the event, the president thanked his fellow leaders for the ‘strong support’ they’ve shown his country amid recent discussions about striving for peace with Russia.
“During all this period, and last week, you stayed with us,” he told attendees. “We are not alone, and these are not just words, we feel it.”
“You made a strong signal to [the] Ukrainian people,” he added, claiming citizens ‘appreciate’.
Zelenskyy’s latest comment comes less than a week since he and US president Donald Trump butted-heads during a meeting in the Oval Office.
Following the heated address, Trump and Vice President JD Vance were subsequently slammed by millions of viewers for their controversial treatment of the Ukrainian leader.
After Trump warned Zelenskyy he was ‘gambling with WW3’, Vance branded the 47-year-old ‘disrespectful’ for not ‘thanking’ them for inviting him for peace talks.
The Republican president went on to pause all aid to Ukraine, after Zelenskyy flew to the UK to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a summit with European leaders.
Following the move, however, the Ukrainian leader released a lengthy statement online, describing his White House meeting with Trump as ‘regrettable’.
Zelenskyy also insisted that his country’s representatives are willing to ‘sign it [a peace agreement] in any time and in any convenient format’.
In response to the message, Trump read Zelenskyy’s ‘important letter’ whilst making a speech in Congress yesterday (5 March).
Also seeming to put Friday’s blunder behind him, Trump went on to tell Congress attendees he’d been in ‘serious discussions with Russia’, and had ‘received strong signals that they are ready for peace’.
“Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” he asked. “It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to halt the killing. It’s time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides.”
Zelenskyy has since arrived into Brussels for the European Council security summit, where he issued his latest statement.
Afterwards, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola also told press that she was willing to be ‘a little bit more blunt than usual’ during today’s meeting, adding that ‘it’s about damn time’ the summit take place.
According to the BBC, Metsola added that Europe needs to show it is ‘capable of standing up on its own two feet’, and ‘put, finally, our money where our mouth is’ in a bid to see peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Pointing out that the latter nation is in the same situation it was three years earlier, she went on to say that more needs to be done on Europe’s part in terms of security, funding and planning.
