Donald Trump met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at his New York residence in Trump Tower on Friday, stating that it was time to resolve Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Republican presidential nominee had frequently criticized the Ukrainian leader during his campaign, making the meeting appear unlikely until just hours before it took place.
As the two men stood side by side, Zelensky said he thought they had a “common view that the war has to be stopped and Putin can’t win”, adding that he would discuss with Trump details of his “victory plan”.
Despite years of differences, Trump insisted he had a very good relationship with Zelensky: “I also have a very good relationship as you know with President Putin and I think if we win [the election] we’re going to get it resolved very quickly.”
“It has to end, [Zelensky] is going through hell, his country’s going through hell like few countries have ever,” he told reporters.
The relationship between Trump and Zelensky has been tumultuous. Trump was impeached in 2019 over allegations that he pressured Zelensky to find damaging information on the Biden family.
A partial transcript of their call showed Trump urging Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. However, standing beside Zelensky on Friday, Trump praised the Ukrainian leader’s management of the situation.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Trump has frequently echoed Moscow’s perspectives on the war. During the presidential debate in September, he avoided answering whether he supported Ukraine’s victory in the conflict.
Before their meeting on Friday, Trump reiterated his longstanding claim that he could “work out something” to end the war if he wins the presidential election, even before Joe Biden’s term ends in January. However, he has declined to clarify whether he believes Ukraine should concede territory to Russia as a resolution.
While Zelensky has been in the U.S. since Sunday, the meeting between the two was only confirmed on Thursday night when Trump shared a screenshot of a text from Zelensky expressing the importance of having direct contact to achieve full mutual understanding.
Tensions have persisted between Zelensky and the Republican Party leading up to November’s U.S. presidential election. Some Republicans were displeased by Zelensky’s visit earlier this week to an arms factory in Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he was accompanied by top Democrats, including state Governor Josh Shapiro.
Zelensky’s trip to the key swing state was labelled by leading Republicans as a partisan campaign event. In a public letter, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the visit was “designed to help Democrats” and claimed it amounted to “election interference”.
Trump has become increasingly critical of ongoing U.S. funding for Ukraine, recently intensifying his attacks on President Zelensky, whom he labeled the “greatest salesman on Earth.”
In response, Zelensky shared with the New Yorker magazine that he believes Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war.”
When asked about Zelensky’s remarks on Thursday, Trump stated, “I do believe I disagree with him. He doesn’t know me.”
On the same day, Zelensky met with U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House to discuss his “victory plan,” which aims to apply pressure on Russia for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
Just hours earlier, Biden announced a new military assistance package for Ukraine, amounting to $7.9 billion (£5.9 billion).
As Zelensky was in the U.S., drone attacks continued in Ukraine. That evening, a Russian drone strike on Izmail, a port city along the River Danube, resulted in three fatalities and 14 injuries. Among the wounded were two boys, ages three and 13, and a 14-year-old girl.
Romania’s defense ministry indicated that one of the Russian drones involved in the attack may have briefly crossed into Romanian airspace, raising concerns for the NATO member state.