Donald Trump has agreed to a last-minute meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, despite his frequent criticism of the Ukrainian leader on the US campaign trail.
The Republican presidential nominee announced in a news conference that Zelensky would visit Trump Tower on Friday, just days after Trump had criticized him for not “making a deal” with Moscow.
Initially, reports from Trump’s campaign suggested that a meeting was highly unlikely, but it seems the former US president has changed his stance.
The relationship between Trump and Zelensky has been rocky. In 2019, Trump was impeached over allegations that he pressured Zelensky to uncover damaging information about the Biden family.
A partial transcript of their call showed Trump urging Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Trump has often echoed Moscow’s narratives regarding the war. During a September presidential debate, he avoided answering whether he supported Ukraine’s victory in the conflict.
While announcing the upcoming meeting, Trump reiterated his claim that he could broker a “quick deal” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky.
However, he declined to provide details or address whether he believes Ukraine should concede territory to Russia to bring an end to the war.
“It’s a shame what’s happening in Ukraine. So many deaths, so much destruction. It’s a horrible thing,” Trump told reporters in New York on Thursday.
Friday’s meeting comes amid tension between Zelensky and the Republican party ahead of November’s US presidential election.
Some Republicans were angered by Zelensky’s visit to an arms factory in Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, with top Democrats, including state Governor Josh Shapiro, earlier this week.
Zelensky’s trip to the key swing state was labelled by leading Republicans as a partisan campaign event. In a public letter, speaker of the US House Mike Johnson said the visit was “designed to help Democrats” and claimed it amounted to “election interference”.
Former President Donald Trump has become increasingly vocal in his criticism of ongoing U.S. financial support for Ukraine. Recently, he intensified his remarks about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, referring to him as the “greatest salesman on Earth.”
In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Zelensky expressed his view that Trump “doesn’t really know how to end the war.”
When asked about these comments on Thursday, Trump responded, “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,” aimed at pressuring Russia into a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
Earlier, President Biden announced an additional $7.9 billion (£5.9 billion) in military aid to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, as Zelensky’s U.S. visit took place, drone strikes continued in Ukraine. On Thursday night, three people were killed and 14 others injured in a Russian drone attack on Izmail, a port city along the River Danube. The victims included two boys, aged three and 13, and a 14-year-old girl, according to prosecutors.
Romania’s defense ministry also reported that one of the Russian drones may have briefly crossed into Romanian airspace, a NATO member state.