Volodymyr Zelenskyy hopes for ‘constructive’ meeting with Donald Trump envoy

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet US envoy Keith Kellogg, seeking “constructive” work with the US.
• Zelenskyy emphasised the choice between aligning with the Kremlin or pursuing peace.
• He highlighted the importance of Ukrainian unity and international support for ending the war with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will meet US envoy Keith Kellogg on Thursday and he hopes for “constructive” work with the US, after US President Donald Trump lashed out against the Ukrainian leader on social media.

Zelenskyy addressed Ukrainians in his daily evening video, hours after Trump criticised him on social media, calling him a “dictator” in comments that echoed Kremlin talking points and which have shocked Europe and Kyiv.

“We are scheduled to meet with General Kellogg tomorrow, and it is very important for us that the meeting and our work with America in general be constructive,” Zelenskyy said.

“Together with America and Europe, peace can be more reliable, and this is our goal,” he added.

US President Donald Trump called Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections" on February 19, 2025. Photo / AFP

The Ukrainian leader also said the world’s most powerful – in an apparent allusion to Trump – face the “choice” of being with the Kremlin or for peace.

“The future is not with Putin, but with peace. And it is a choice for everyone in the world – and for the powerful – to be with Putin or with peace. We should choose peace. I thank everyone for their support.”

He said he is “counting on Ukrainian unity”, as well as the “unity of Europe” and the “pragmatism of America”.

pic.twitter.com/PMcrOwXejI

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2025

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine has wanted an end to the war from “the very first second that” Russia invaded in February 2022 and he wants a peace deal that will ensure Moscow will not attack again.

“I am confident that we will end it, and with a lasting peace. And so that Russia cannot come to Ukraine again, and so that Ukrainians return from Russian captivity, and so that Ukraine has a future. This is a normal desire of every nation,” he said.

Zelenskyy later said he spoke to Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham, French leader Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“We greatly appreciate the bicameral and bipartisan support of the US Congress to the Ukrainian people in our fight against Russian aggression,” he said on social media after speaking to Graham.

He said Macron had “shared details of his recent talks with world leaders” and that “France values freedom just as much as we do”.

“Thank you for your support,” he said after talks with both Macron and Starmer.

– Agence France-Presse