- By Ajeet Kumar
- Sat, 01 Mar 2025 05:57 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
An angry White House clash between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump left the world stunned on Friday. However, after leaving the United States, President Zelenskyy on Saturday wrote a series of posts on the social media platform X and expressed gratitude for pouring support, especially from Trump, Congress and the American people. He acknowledged that America’s help has been vital in helping Ukraine survive. However, Zelenskyy said that despite the tough dialogue, both sides must remain strategic partners.
Earlier on Friday, Zelenskyy openly challenged Trump over his approach toward Russian President Vladimir Putin at the meeting, urging him to "make no compromises with a killer." During the furious meeting, Trump accused Zelenskyy of risking World War Three and of being ungrateful to Washington for the military aid provided to Ukraine.
Grateful to US: Zelenskyy
"We are very grateful to the United States for all the support. I’m thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and the American people. Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion," wrote Zelenskyy. "America’s help has been vital in helping us survive, and I want to acknowledge that. Despite the tough dialogue, we remain strategic partners. But we need to be honest and direct with each other to truly understand our shared goals," he added.
Zelenskyy recalled that 40th US President Ronald Reagan had once said, “Peace is not just the absence of war.” We’re talking about just and lasting peace—freedom, justice, and human rights for everyone. A ceasefire won’t work with Putin. He has broken ceasefires 25 times over the last ten years. "A real peace is the only solution," noted the Ukrainian leader.
The meeting in Washington was intended to smooth choppy personal relations between Trump and Zelenskyy, with the two men due to sign an agreement that would have shared profits from Ukraine's critical raw material deposits with the US.
Instead, it quickly turned into a vicious spat in front of the cameras as Trump visibly irritated Zelenskiy by refusing to condemn Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago and has occupied parts of it since 2014.
Ready to sign minerals agreement: Zelenskyy
"We are ready to sign the minerals agreement, and it will be the first step toward security guarantees. But it’s not enough, and we need more than just that. A ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine. We’ve been fighting for 3 years, and Ukrainian people need to know that America is on our side," Zelenskyy said.
"I cannot change Ukraine’s position on Russia. The Russians are killing us. Russia is the enemy, and that’s the reality we face. Ukraine wants peace, but it must be a just and lasting peace. For that, we need to be strong at the negotiation table. Peace can only come when we know we have security guarantees, when our army is strong, and our partners are with us. We want peace. That’s why I came to the United States, and visited President Trump. The deal on minerals is just a first step toward security guarantees and getting closer to peace. Our situation is tough, but we can’t just stop fighting and not having guarantees that Putin will not return tomorrow," he said.
"It will be difficult without the US support. But we can’t lose our will, our freedom, or our people. We’ve seen how Russians came to our homes and killed many people. Nobody wants another wave of occupation. If we cannot be accepted to NATO, we need some clear structure of security guarantees from our allies in the US," noted Zelenskyy.
(With inputs from agency)