Volodymyr Zelensky is set to visit the US on Friday in an effort to improve relations with Donald Trump after a war of words between the two presidents.
The Ukrainian leader will reportedly fly to Washington DC to sign a deal that could see his country provide America with rare earth minerals in return for funds to prop up its war effort.
Mr Trump told a press conference on Tuesday: “I hear that he’s coming on Friday. Certainly, it’s OK with me if he’d like to. And he would like to sign it together with me. And I understand that’s a big deal, very big deal.”
According to the Financial Times, the deal could see $350 billion (£277bn) given to Ukraine for the right to use rare earth metals and Ukrainian oil and gas.
“We’ve pretty much negotiated our deal on earth and various other things,” Mr Trump added.
“We’ll be looking … general security for Ukraine later on. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. There are a lot of people that want to do it, and I spoke with Russia about it. They didn’t seem to have a problem with it. So I think they understand they’re not going back. And once we do this, they’re not going back.”
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer will fly to Washington DC on Wednesday to continue talks with Mr Trump. This follows the announcement that the UK’s international aid budget will be slashed to increase defence spending.
However, Mr Trump's press conference did not mark a turning point for him, as he has continued to express his opposition to the Ukraine war. He insisted it would have “never happened” had he been president when it began in February 2022.
Here is a timeline of the relationship between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky.
Timeline of Donald Trump’s relationship with Volodymyr Zelensky
2019
The relationship started positively when then-US President Mr Trump called Mr Zelensky on April 21, 2019, to congratulate him on becoming Ukraine’s president.
A few days later, Joe Biden announced he would challenge Mr Trump in the 2020 US election. That same week, the Democrat’s son Hunter Biden left his role on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas company.
In May, Mr Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani reportedly pushed Ukrainian prosecutor general Yuriy Lutsenko to investigate wrongdoing by the Bidens. Mr Trump later reportedly pressed Mr Zelensky as well for an investigation. This came to nothing and Mr Trump was impeached in December but ultimately cleared.
Mr Trump lost the election to Mr Biden the following year and the events may have sown seeds of discontent between the pair.
2022
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and Mr Trump was supportive of Kyiv’s defence — saying Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offensive was “appalling”. He also called Mr Zelenksy “brave”.
2023
Mr Trump announced plans to run again for president and said: "Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, I will have the disastrous war between Russia and Ukraine settled.”
2024
Both countries were set to hold elections, but only the US vote proceeded, which Mr Trump won. However, Mr Zelensky declared martial law in Ukraine, postponing the election.
The pair met and shook hands before the election.
In September, Mr Zelensky told the New Yorker magazine: "My feeling is that Trump doesn't really know how to stop the war, even if he might think he knows how."
Mr Trump retaliated by saying: "Any deal, even the worst deal, would have been better than what we have right now."
The two leaders spoke after Mr Trump’s election win and vowed to work together.
2025
Mr Zelensky said Mr Trump had the potential to be “decisive” in the war by helping Ukraine thwart Mr Putin. The pair reportedly had a “positive” call in February.
However, it later became apparent that this decisiveness might not align with Mr Zelensky’s expectations.
Ukraine was not invited to the February peace talks between Russia and the US. Mr Trump said: “Today I heard, 'Oh, well, we weren't invited.' Well, you've been there for three years … You should have never started it. You could have made a deal."
The same week, he wrote on Truth Social: "A dictator without elections, Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.” He also called Mr Zelensky “a modestly successful comedian”, referring to the Ukraine leader’s former career.
He added of the Ukrainian: “He’s done a terrible job, his country is shattered, and MILLIONS [in Ukraine] have unnecessarily died.” Mr Trump also falsely claimed that Mr Zelensky had “talked the United States of America into spending $350bn to go into a war that couldn’t be won”.
Mr Zelensky hit back: “With all due respect to President Donald Trump as a leader... he is living in this disinformation space… We are standing strong on our own two feet. I am counting on... the unity of Europe and the pragmatism of America."
