Russia is preparing to attack NATO states next year and Donald Trump does not have a plan to end the war in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky warned yesterday.
The Ukrainian leader led a backlash against the White House alongside Sir Keir Starmer over concessions the US President made as part of a proposed Ukraine-Russia peace deal.
His comments came after it emerged that on Wednesday Mr Trump had spoken to Russian president Vladimir Putin for an hour and a half about the conflict, sparking horror.
In a chilling warning, Mr Zelensky said that intelligence reports suggest Putin is ‘preparing for war against Nato countries next year’, and that in anticipation of the conflict widening, Russia plans to deploy up to 150,000 troops to neighbouring Belarus.
The country is closely aligned with Russia and could act as a launch pad for an invasion of nearby Baltic states or Poland.
Setting out the concessions on Wednesday, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth effectively ruled out Ukraine joining Nato, saying the US ‘does not believe Nato membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement’ with Russia.
He also told Kyiv its ambition to recover territory seized by Russia was ‘delusional’, and that an expectation to return to pre-2014 Ukraine borders would be ‘unrealistic’.
Mr Hegseth, a former Fox News presenter who has no political experience, ruled out the US being part of, or contributing financially towards post-conflict peacekeepers on the ground – which could have huge financial and military implications for Britain.
Yesterday, after the UK and European allies backed Ukraine, Mr Zelensky said that what he had heard so far from Mr Trump was ‘definitely not enough to form a peace plan’.
He also accused the US of ‘varied’ messaging over the conflict – a reference to Mr Hegseth’s remarks and the desperate scramble by US officials to ‘walk them back’.
Mr Zelensky told a security conference in Munich: ‘We will never recognise occupied territories as Russian. We want to be in Nato, yes.
‘We trust Nato’s security guarantees. I think this is the cheapest option for everyone.’
Sir Keir assured him yesterday that Ukraine was on ‘an irreversible path’ to Nato membership.
The Prime Minister was also unequivocal that there could not be peace talks without Ukraine and said the UK’s support for the country remained ‘concrete’.
A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘Ukraine needs strong security guarantees, further lethal aid and a sovereign future.
‘The PM reiterated the UK’s commitment to Ukraine being on a path to Nato, as agreed by allies at the Washington summit last year.’
Without Nato membership and the support of European armies, Mr Zelensky suggested that Ukraine would need to compensate by doubling the size of its army to 1.5million people.
He added: ‘We have a strong army which can make a stronger Nato everywhere.’
In a bid to find common ground, US Vice-President JD Vance sat down with Mr Zelensky in Munich last night.
Their talks came after Mr Vance said in a conference speech that Mr Trump was the ‘new sheriff in town’.
However, he appeared to acknowledge yesterday that the US may have made errors regarding its strategy in peace talks.
Mr Vance said it was essential to ‘preserve the optionality’ for negotiators – despite Mr Hegseth having effectively ruled out Nato membership for Ukraine and the recovery of all Russian-occupied territories earlier.
The assault by European leaders on the US’s approach to Ukraine continued yesterday. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, warned the US against looking for a ‘dirty deal’ to end the conflict.
Meanwhile, German defence minister Boris Pistorius said that it had been a mistake for Mr Trump to give away key bargaining concessions to Russia before talks had even begun.
In a bid to soothe the waters, Mr Vance told the Wall Street Journal that the US had ‘military and economic tools of leverage’ which could be used against Russia.
While Britain has been trying to bridge the transatlantic gap between the US and Europe, the Prime Minister appears to regard any challenge to Ukraine’s future sovereignty as a ‘red line’.
That means the country being able to choose its political future in the aftermath of the conflict, including membership of Nato and the European Union – both of which Russia is opposed to.
Mr Zelensky was adamant yesterday that the Kremlin chief cannot be trusted on any aspect of the conflict – going against views expressed by Mr Trump in a White House briefing on Thursday.
This would prevent Mr Trump railroading Ukraine into accepting a peace deal involving territorial sacrifice or a compromise on its future sovereignty.
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