Top Republicans aligned with United States President Donald Trump pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, March 2, 2025, to change his position on the war with Russia or step aside.
This ramped up pressure on the Ukrainian president after a contentious White House meeting with Trump last week.
European leaders gave a show of support to Zelenskyy at a meeting in London on Sunday, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urging his counterparts to step up their defense efforts, just two days after Trump and Vice President JD Vance clashed with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, spurring him to leave early without signing a planned minerals deal.
The blowup, which showcased Vance in an attack dog role for his boss, stunned leaders around the world and raised questions about the next phase of the war, which Russia started by invading Ukraine three years ago, and Trump’s efforts to end it.
Zelenskyy argued in the meeting that Russian President Vladimir Putin had not honored a 2019 ceasefire agreement and described him as a killer and a terrorist.
Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said it was not clear to the administration that Zelenskyy was ready to negotiate an end of the war.
Russia-Ukraine war: Trump, Zelenskyy clash at White House
Waltz underscored Trump’s goal for a permanent peace between Moscow and Kyiv involving territorial concessions in exchange for European-led security guarantees.
Asked whether Trump wanted Zelenskyy to resign, Waltz said: “We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians and end this war.
“If it becomes apparent that President Zelenskyy’s either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands.”
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a top Trump ally and also an advocate for Ukraine, questioned whether the United States could still work with Zelenskyy following the White House clash in remarks to reporters on Friday.
House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson issued a similar message on Sunday, Reuters reported.
“Something has to change. Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that,” the top congressional Republican said, referring to Zelenskyy.
“I’d like to see Putin defeated, frankly. He is an adversary of the United States. But in this conflict, we’ve got to bring an end to this war,” he added.
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