KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president has few options after last week’s astonishing Oval Office row with U.S. President Donald Trump, who berated the wartime leader and later cut off the military aid his country relies on to fight Russia's invasion.
The scene will almost certainly stick with for the rest of his presidency, if not his life. And Ukraine's future could depend on whether he can repair his relationship with the White House.
American officials have said that they want an apology from Zelenskyy, who has maintained his cool in public appearances since the episode and leaned into European support while also rebuffing . He has even expressed optimism about continued U.S. support.
As European partners rally around Zelenskyy, Western officials in Kyiv acknowledge that the durability of any peace plan will depend on U.S. military backing.
Zelenskyy has said he is still ready to sign with Trump that could be the first step toward a ceasefire. Since Friday's confrontation, there has been communication between Ukraine and the administration but not between the two presidents.
Meanwhile, Trump is scheduled on Tuesday with a speech that will offer him an opportunity to outline his vision for ending the war.
“I’m sure that this situation will pass, and there are more important things ahead. And if we all continue to be constructive, then, I think, we will have a positive result,” Zelenskyy told reporters Sunday after in London. “Positive — if my understanding here is correct — positive is when we are bringing peace for Ukraine closer, all of us.”
Signing the deal with the Trump administration would have paved the way for more agreements on the future of American military aid and the terms of an armistice with Russia. Now all of that is uncertain.
Saving the US-Ukraine relationship
Oleksandr Kraiev, an analyst at the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Prism foreign policy think tank, said the first step to salvaging U.S-Ukraine relations is “to re-establish personal contacts with Trump’s people and with Trump himself,” even though ”it will be hard psychologically."
“Yes, the situation is quite dire. We see a lot of bad prognosis,” he said. “It’s not an apocalyptic scenario for us. The relations can be reestablished, not because Ukrainian diplomacy is far superior or because Zelenskyy is a great communicator, but because there is still an economic interest for Trump here in Ukraine.”
“As for saving the relationship,” Zelenskyy told reporters over the weekend: “I think our relationship (with the U.S.) will continue because it’s more than a relationship of one moment or another. We have to be open.”
Ukraine is “ready to continue the dialogue," he said. “We want to count on new aid.”
U.S. officials have called for Zelenskyy to express gratitude for U.S. support, something the Ukrainian president has regularly done since the full-scale invasion began early in 2022.
“America is a democracy. The president is not the only power. Congress matters. Voters matter. Mass media and public opinion. We should work with them,” Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko said.
Leaning into Europe
Europe has left by the deepening Ukraine-U.S. rift. But a ceasefire plan crafted by European powers will still require U.S. support to be effective.
“All is not lost. There is a chance that a deal could still be done, but it’s much less likely than it was,” said Ben Barry, a military expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
A French-British plan to “should include the presence of the United States of America in one way or another” Zelenskyy said, adding that the U.S. could contribute air, ground or intelligence support.
Boosting support to Ukraine in the event that the U.S. withdraws aid would come at a great cost to the continent, Barry said.
Europe could provide arms and ammunition directly to Ukraine and could put the European defense and industry on a war footing, he said. “That would cost Europe a lot of money. Whether it’s got the political resolution to do that, we would see.”
Calls for Zelenskyy to resign
Zelenskyy has rebuffed resignation calls from some U.S. officials, saying only the Ukrainian people can decide who leads them.
Amid the criticism, there are no signs in Ukraine of public discussion about Zelenskyy stepping down.
“If Zelensky had behaved differently or if there had been an interpreter, of course, it would have been a slightly different story,” said Oleksandr Khara, director of the Center for Defense Strategies.
But David Novak, a 23-year-old Ukrainian cook, said what most Ukrainians were thinking. He said he was “shocked” by the Oval Office exchange and said he understood that Zelenskyy "is doing his best, and that he is holding on.”
In Ukraine, the White House blowup sparked yet another surge of unity, as many in the country interpreted the remarks from Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance as a personal affront while Zelenskyy expressed an opinion widely shared among Ukrainians — that Russia cannot be trusted to keep ceasefire promises.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a selection of photos on Instagram of Ukrainians wearing military fatigues, blood-soaked medical scrubs and firefighting gear — all symbols of the war — with the slogan “Ukrainians have their suits.” The campaign is in response to a question posed to Zelenskyy in the Oval Office about why he was not wearing a suit.
In response to U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham’s call that he resign, Zelenskyy told reporters: “I can give (Lindsay Graham) citizenship in Ukraine and he will become a citizen of our country. And then his voice will start to gain weight, and I will hear him as a citizen of Ukraine on the topic of who must be the president.”
