Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump aide tells Zelensky to ‘tone it down’ and take deal

Tensions between the US and Ukraine over ending the conflict with Russia have continued to grow, despite British foreign secretary David Lammy saying that the Kremlin has no “appetite” for peace.

After US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky traded barbs earlier in the week, White House officials yesterday accused Mr Zelensky of “insulting” his American counterpart, and a planned joint press conference in Kyiv was cancelled at the request of the US.

Mr Zelensky had been scheduled to answer questions alongside retired US general Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s Ukraine envoy, after talks between the two men.

But Mr Zelensky’s spokesperson said that, while the talks had taken place, the press conference had been pulled.

Meanwhile, US national security adviser Mike Waltz said Mr Trump’s criticism of Mr Zelensky reflected frustrations with what Washington viewed as roadblocks erected by Kyiv to finding a solution to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the rejection of an offer that would have given the US control over Ukrainian minerals in exchange for security guarantees.

He said: “There’s some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump (that) were unacceptable.”

The deepening feud between the two countries, after Mr Trump described Mr Zelensky as a “dictator”, comes in the week that US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia for initial talks on ending the conflict, without any Ukrainian representation.

China came out in support of US president Donald Trump’s bid to strike a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, at a G20 meeting in South Africa yesterday, while US allies rallied around Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Less than a month into his presidency, Mr Trump has upended US policy on the war, scrapping a campaign to isolate Moscow with a phone call to Russian president Vladimir Putin and talks between senior US and Russian officials that have sidelined Ukraine.

Mr Trump on Wednesday then denounced Mr Zelensky as a “dictator,” prompting statements of support for the Ukrainian president from G20 members such as Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom.

“China supports all efforts conducive to peace (in Ukraine), including the recent consensus reached between the United States and Russia,” Wang Yi told other G20 foreign ministers gathered in Johannesburg, according to a statement from his ministry.

“China is willing to continue playing a constructive role in the political resolution of the crisis,” he added.

Mr Wang did not reiterate the point he made at the Munich Security Conference last Friday that all stakeholders in the Russia-Ukraine conflict should participate in any peace talks.

“China is generally happy to see the easing of relations between the United States and Russia and the shift of the Ukrainian crisis to a political solution, but will pay close attention to the direction of negotiations and the direction of easing of US-Russian relations,” said Cui Hongjian, head of European Union studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

“If China participates in mediation, it can reduce the risk of the United States using the easing of relations with Russia to harm China’s interests.”

Ukraine needs to show a “deep appreciation” for what the American people have done for them, Mike Waltz has said.

Speaking during a White House briefing, the national security advisor said “some of the rhetoric” coming out of Kyiv and “insults to Mr Trump were unacceptable”.

It came after Mr Trump said he wanted $500bn in rare earth minerals from Kyiv as payback for Washington’s military support of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

But Mr Zelensky said the offer was “not serious” and it did not provide any specific security guarantees in return for the coveted resources including lithium and titanium.

He said the US had supplied his country with $67bn in weapons and $31.5bn in direct budget support throughout the nearly three-year war with Russia.

“You can’t call this $500bn and ask us to return $500bn in minerals or something else. This is not a serious conversation,” Mr Zelensky said.

He also accused Mr Trump of living in a “disinformation bubble” when he blamed Ukraine for the war – to which Trump responded furiously, labelling the Ukrainian leader a “dictator”.

French president Emmanuel Macron says he plans to tell Donald Trump next week that he can’t afford to be weak in the face of Vladimir Putin.

Macron is due to visit Washington on Monday where he says he will try to convince Trump that his interest “is the same as ours”.

“I’m going to tell him: ‘You can’t be weak with President Putin. That’s not who you are, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest.'”

Russia has “learned nothing” from “colonial failures and wars”, David Lammy has said, telling global foreign ministers that peace with Ukraine would mean President Vladimir Putin “finding a way forward which respects Ukraine’s sovereignty”.

The Foreign Secretary was speaking at the G20 meeting of foreign ministers in South Africa, a summit also attended by Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, and said he had been “hoping to hear some sympathy for the innocent victims of the aggression” from his Moscow counterpart.

However, Mr Lammy suggested that was not forthcoming, and Mr Lavrov “left his seat” before his own contribution.

The meeting of foreign ministers comes amid uncertainty about Ukraine’s future, as Washington and Moscow began a process of talks over peace earlier this week.

US president Donald Trump is right to ignore Volodymyr Zelensky as he negotiates a peace deal with Vladimir Putin, Elon Musk said.

Mr Musk claimed Zelensky was “despised by the people of Ukraine” and “would lose in a landslide” if an election was held.

“President Trump is right to ignore him and solve for peace independent of the disgusting, massive graft machine feeding off the dead bodies of Ukrainian soldiers,” Mr Musk said.

Katie Hawkinson reports from Washington, D.C.