Zelenskyy willing to step down as Ukraine's president 'immediately' if it 'brings peace or Nato membership'

23 February 2025, 15:26 | Updated: 23 February 2025, 15:52

President Zelenskyy has offered to step down "immediately" as Ukraine's leader "if it brings peace" or allows the nation to gain Nato membership.

Speaking in a press conference on Sunday, Ukraine's president said: “I am ready to step down if it brings peace. Or trade it for Nato.”

He added it was “not enough” for Donald Trump to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, with the country looking for lasting peace with its neighbours.

“I want very much from Trump understanding of each other,” he told a press conference.

He added: “Security guarantees from Trump are much needed."

Zelenskyy said that he was focused on Ukraine's security, and it is not his "dream" to remain president for a decade.

It comes days before the third-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, on 24 February 2022.

Reports have emerged that Ukraine may be forced to hold elections as part of a peace negotiation with Russia, according to the Telegraph.

Russia have repeatedly stated that they will not agree to a peace agreement if they are granted Nato membership.

Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, said that Ukraine possible Nato membership would be unlikely to be part of the negotiations.

Speaking on Sunday, Zelensky added that he was "not offended" by "dictator" comments made by Trump earlier this week.

"I wouldn’t call Donald Trump’s words a compliment,” the Ukrainian president said.

He added: “I wasn’t offended, but a dictator would be.”“I’m not. I’m the legally elected president.”

This comes as Russia launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine, since the war started, this week.

President Zelenskyy said on X that Russia has launched an "aerial terror" on Ukraine, as more than 250 drones attack the country overnight.

He wrote: "Every day, our people stand against aerial terror,"

"On the eve of the third anniversary of the full-scale war, Russia launched 267 attack drones against Ukraine - the largest attack since Iranian drones began striking Ukrainian cities and villages."

Ukraine's airforce said that 138 drones were downed and another 119 disappeared from radars after being immobilised by their electronic warfare.

The attack was reported over five regions of Ukraine.

Tensions between Washington and Kyiv have heightened in the last week, after Trump branded Zelenskyy as a 'dictator' and the Ukrainian leader stalled signing a 'problematic' minerals deal with the US - in exchange for weapons.

According to a source close to the negotiations, there were a "number of problematic issues" with the draft agreement.

It comes as Donald Trump continues to criticise the Ukrainian leader - despite also claiming in recent hours that a minerals deal was close.

He also blasted European leaders including Starmer and Macron, saying they had "done nothing" to avert conflict with Russia.

Donald Trump calls Zelenskyy a 'dictator'

Trump's ex-security advisor has called Donald Trump a "useful idiot" to Putin, as he told LBC the US President's desire to run for a third term in office are being taken serious by insiders.

He said: "I have to say, even I was surprised that the near 180-degree U-turn on Ukraine, where the US has really all but surrendered key elements of Ukraine's position and what had been the position of the United States and the NATO alliance - even before talks with the Russians began."

"I don't see that improving over the near term," he admitted.

Asked why relations between Zelenskyy and Trump had descended into what is effectively a sharp exchange of insults, Bolton said it stemmed back to the "perfect" phone call between the leader and Trump in the summer of 2019.

John Bolton anticipates Trump will try and withdraw from NATO

Bolton described how Trump "essentially threatened to withhold security assistance to Ukraine if Zelensky didn't cooperate in Trump's political desire to find the famous Hillary Clinton computer server and uncover what he saw were Ukrainian actions in the 2016 election in favour of Clinton, and against him, that obviously led to the first impeachment."

"Despite Zelensky's recent efforts to try to create a better relationship with Trump, that's obviously failed. And then, of course, on the other side, Trump thinks Vladimir Putin is his friend."

"Trump certainly performs as a useful idiot in advancing what Putin and the Russians seem to want," he added.