Moscow, buoyed by the aid suspension, has refused to rule out keeping captured territory.
Ukraine said today that it planned to hold new talks with the United States after Washington suspended its intelligence sharing, delivering a fresh blow to Kyiv as it battles Russia’s invasion.
“Today, Ukrainian and American teams began working on an upcoming meeting. We’re seeing forward momentum,” Zelenskyy said in an evening address, without saying when or where new talks would take place.
Zelenskyy also said he would join European Union leaders for a Brussels summit tomorrow NZT.
The United States said earlier that it had “paused” intelligence sharing with Ukraine, days after announcing it was also suspending military aid.
The moves have cemented fears in Kyiv and Europe that Ukraine could be forced to accept a peace settlement on terms favourable to Moscow or risk losing US support entirely.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he addresses the nation. Photo / AFP
“We all want a safe future for our people. Not a temporary ceasefire, but an end to the war once and for all. With our co-ordinated efforts and US leadership, this is entirely achievable,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media following a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
A day earlier he said he was “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer” and that he wanted to “make things right” with Trump.
In an address to the US Congress yesterday, Trump read aloud from a letter he said he had received from Zelenskyy in which he said he was ready for peace talks.
The Republican has made ending the war one of his top foreign policy priorities, though he has yet to outline his plan for a deal both sides could endorse.
Zelenskyy wants security guarantees from the US to deter Russia from invading once again in the future.
Moscow has refused to rule out giving up any of the land it has captured in its three-year military campaign, and has been buoyed by the suspension of military aid.
The Kremlin welcomed news of the Ukrainian leader’s letter to Trump.
“This approach is generally positive,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in answer to a question from AFP.
However, the Kremlin has repeatedly thrown doubt on whether it would hold talks with Zelenskyy.
People gathered for a rally in support of Ukraine near Philadelphia City Hall, in Pennsylvania, yesterday. Photo / Matthew Hatcher, AFP
Peskov cited a decree passed by Zelenskyy that rules out direct negotiations with Putin.
The Ukrainian leader has since said on multiple occasions he would be willing to meet Putin – but only after Kyiv and its Western allies agree on a common negotiating position.
Moscow has also accused Zelenskyy of not being a legitimate leader, citing the expiration of his five-year mandate following his 2019 election as President.
Under Ukrainian martial law, elections are banned during wartime.
Zelenskyy’s key European backers have supported the suspension of any vote amid Russia’s full-scale offensive, though Trump has falsely claimed the Ukrainian leader is widely unpopular at home and called on him to hold elections.
Intelligence pause
Scholz gave his backing to Zelenskyy’s calls for a truce in the sky and at sea as a first step towards ending the fighting.
“The Chancellor welcomed the Ukrainian President’s willingness to start negotiations as soon as possible. Both agreed on the importance of the American President’s leadership,” Scholz’s office said in a statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron is mulling a joint visit to Washington alongside Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to present a united European front to Trump, the French Government said.
Trump is pushing for Europe to do more for Ukraine’s defence.
CIA director John Ratcliffe said the US had “paused” intelligence sharing with Ukraine after the dramatic breakdown in relations between Kyiv and the White House.
The Ukrainian presidency declined to comment.
On the battlefield, Russia’s forces said they had captured another small village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
The gains come as AFP analysis of US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) data showed Moscow’s advance had slowed in February after a series of accelerating territorial gains throughout the winter.
