Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready for the next round of trilateral peace talks aimed at ending Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion, but he said Washington and Moscow must agree where and when any meeting would take place.
In comments released Sunday, Zelenskyy said the United States proposed hosting the next meeting between American, Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams. He said that team composition includes U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, but he said Moscow refused to send a delegation.
Zelenskyy told reporters that Ukraine was waiting for a response from the Americans and that the next steps hinged on either a change in the country where the talks would meet or confirmation from the Russians. “We are waiting for a response from the Americans. Either they will change the country where we meet, or the Russians must confirm the U.S,” he said. He added: “We are not blocking any of these initiatives. We want a trilateral meeting to take place.”
Zelenskyy also referenced the U.S. decision to postpone its sponsored talks between the two sides. He said the pause was linked to the war in the Middle East, which he said has drawn international attention away from Ukraine as it tries to hold back Russia’s larger army.
He warned that the Middle East conflict could create a “very high” risk that it will drain the air defense stockpiles Ukraine depends on to counter Russian missile strikes. Zelenskyy said he did not have a clear picture of available stockpiles and said he discussed with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday whether SAMP/T systems could serve as an alternative to U.S.-made Patriot batteries for intercepting ballistic missiles.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine would be “first in line” to test any viable alternative that could help fill gaps in air defense. He said Ukraine’s planning depends on what interceptors are available, amid uncertainty about how stockpiles might be affected by competing demands elsewhere.
Zelenskyy also addressed U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent comments about Ukrainian drone technology. Trump told Fox News Radio in an interview aired Friday, “No, we don’t need their help on drone defense.” Zelenskyy pushed back, saying Washington had reached out “several times” to request Ukrainian assistance for a particular country or support for Americans, without providing specifics.
Zelenskyy said the requests came from various U.S. military institutions that contacted Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and other military leaders, and he said Ukraine’s institutions received those requests and responded. “All our institutions received these requests, and we responded to them,” he said.
Separately, Zelenskyy said he offered Washington a defense cooperation deal last year worth $35 billion–$50 billion, describing it as a proposal that would give the U.S. administration access to technology from roughly 200 Ukrainian drone, AI and electronic warfare firms. He said the terms would have earmarked half of production for partners, primarily the U.S., and he said he was told by American officials and Trump that they were interested.
“We received a message from them, and directly from the president as well, that they are interested,” Zelenskyy told reporters. He said Ukraine did not sign the document with Trump and said he did not have an answer for why, adding that he was not sure whether it would happen later.
On energy and sanctions, Zelenskyy said he was against allowing Russian oil to transit through Ukraine via the Druzhba pipeline while the European Union imposes sanctions on Russian oil sales elsewhere. He argued that it would be inconsistent for the U.S. to hear opposition to lifting sanctions in one context while Ukraine would be pressured to resume pipeline transit in another.
Zelenskyy said that if conditions imposed on Ukraine in the dispute threatened weapons supplies, Kyiv would have no choice but to resume oil transit, and he said he would view that as “blackmail.” Oil deliveries through Druzhba have been halted since Jan. 27, and Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s government attributes damage to the pipeline infrastructure to a Russian drone strike.
He also cited political fallout, saying Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused Zelenskyy of deliberately holding up oil supplies. The report said Orban vetoed a new round of EU sanctions against Russia and is blocking a major 90-billion euro ($106 billion) EU loan for Ukraine until flows are resumed.
Separately, the report said the U.S. has temporarily eased some sanctions on Russian oil shipments amid global concerns over sharply higher crude prices linked to supply shortages stemming from the Iran war.