Zelensky braces for Trump showdown: Ukrainian chief jets into Washington to signal key uncommon earths deal – after Donald appeared to overlook calling him ‘a dictator’

Donald Trump will host his Ukrainian counterpart in Washington today with the pair expected to sign a much-discussed deal granting the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth and minerals.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s delegation is set to sign a landmark economic agreement with the U.S. aimed at financing the reconstruction of war-damaged Ukraine, a deal that would closely tie the two countries together for years to come.

Although the deal, which is seen as a step toward ending the three-year war, references the importance of Ukraine’s security, it leaves that to a separate agreement to be discussed between the two leaders, likely to start today.

The meeting at the White House caps a week of frantic international diplomacy centred on a string of unsettling comments from the Trump administration.

Trump upended years of U.S. policy on Ukraine two weeks ago when he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and started talks on ending the war – without Kyiv.

He also alarmed allies as he appeared to turn on Zelenskyy, berating him as a ‘dictator without elections’ and blaming Ukraine for Russia‘s February 2022 invasion.

But Trump’s tone has softened following visits from French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer this week. 

With Starmer by his side on Thursday, Trump said of Zelenskyy: ‘I have a lot of respect for him. We’re going to get along really well.’

Trump also appeared to backtrack on the ‘dictator’ broadside he launched on social media at Zelensky last week – a jibe he had previously refused to retract even as he declined to call Putin a dictator too.

‘Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that,’ Trump responded when asked about the Zelensky comment by journalists during a meeting with Starmer. 

As Ukrainian forces hold out against slow but steady advances by Russia’s larger and better-equipped army, leaders in Kyiv have pushed to ensure a potential U.S.-brokered peace plan would include guarantees for the country’s future security.

Many Ukrainians fear that a hastily negotiated peace – especially one that makes too many concessions to Russian demands – would allow Moscow to rearm and consolidate its forces for a future invasion after current hostilities cease.

Ukrainian media leaked what it said was the anticipated mineral deal between the two countries on Wednesday. 

According to the document, the signatories will establish a co-owned, jointly managed investment fund to which Ukraine will contribute 50% of future revenues from natural resources, including minerals, hydrocarbons and other extractable materials. 

Without mention of the $500bn (£395bn) initially demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump, the document spells out how the government of Ukraine ‘will contribute to the Fund 50 percent of all revenues earned from the future monetization of all relevant Ukrainian Government-owned natural resource assets’.

The document, which only makes one mention of Russia, notes that both the U.S. and Ukraine ‘wish to ensure’ that ‘those States and other persons’ who have ‘acted adversely to Ukraine in the conflict do not benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine following a lasting peace’.

But the document stops short of mentioning any U.S. security guarantees, except that the U.S. government ‘supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace’. 

In light of recent comments, guarantees are expected to come from allies in Europe. Trump has said the deal will give Kyiv ‘the right to fight on’ against Russia.

‘I’m not going to make security guarantees… very much,’ he told reporters this week. ‘We’re going to have Europe do that.’ 

But Trump did pledge after his meeting with Starmer to extend sanctions on Russia linked to the invasion for another year.

If a truce can be reached, Starmer and Macron have said they would send troops for a potential peacekeeping mission to Ukraine to ensure that fighting between Ukraine and Russia does not flare up again.

White House officials are sceptical that Britain and France can assemble enough troops from across Europe, at least at this moment, to deploy a credible peacekeeping mission to Kyiv.

The U.S. welcomed Britain’s commitment to increasing military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 this week. But Trump was vague last night on whether the U.S. would come to Britain’s aid if hypothetically attacked by Russian forces.

‘If the British people are in Ukraine and they get attacked? You know, I’ve always found about the British, they don’t need much help. They can take care of themselves very well…’

Stopping short of any hard guarantees of military support, he added: ‘If they need help, I’ll always be with the British, okay? But they don’t need help.’

U.K. officials had said Starmer would use his talks to push the U.S. for a ‘backstop’ guaranteeing the security of any peacekeeping troops in the event of a peace deal. 

This was hoped to be able to include U.S. aerial intelligence, surveillance and support, as well as rapid-response cover in case the truce is breached.

Zelenskyy has been vague on exactly what kinds of security guarantees would be suitable for his country, and while he continues to advocate for Ukraine’s eventual membership in NATO, he has also suggested a similar security arrangement would suffice.

Trump on Wednesday said Ukraine ‘could forget about’ joining the Western military alliance.

Still, Zelenskyy’s meeting with  Trump, their first since the U.S. leader’s inauguration in January, is seen in Kyiv as a diplomatic win for Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Zelenskyy said being able to meet personally with Trump before Russian President Vladimir Putin does ‘is a good signal.’

Zelenskyy said he hopes to discuss whether the US plans to halt its military aid to Ukraine and, if so, whether Kyiv would be able to purchase weapons directly from the US.

He also wants to know whether Ukraine can use frozen Russian assets for the purchase of weapons and whether Washington plans to lift sanctions on Moscow.