Donald Trump allies pressure Zelenskiy to change course or resign

Top Republicans aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday to change his position on the war with Russia or step aside, ramping up pressure on the Ukrainian leader after a contentious White House meeting last week.

European leaders gave a show of support to Zelenskiy at a meeting in London on Sunday, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urging his counterparts to step up their defense efforts, just two days after Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance clashed with Zelenskiy in the Oval Office, spurring him to leave early without signing a planned minerals deal.

The blowup, which showcased Vance in an attack dog role for his boss, stunned leaders around the world and raised questions about the next phase of the war, which Russia started by invading Ukraine three years ago, and Trump’s efforts to end it.

Zelenskiy argued in the meeting that Russian President Vladimir Putin had not honored a 2019 ceasefire agreement and described him as a killer and a terrorist.

Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said it was not clear to the administration that Zelenskiy was ready to negotiate an end of the war. Waltz underscored Trump’s goal for a permanent peace between Moscow and Kyiv involving territorial concessions in exchange for European-led security guarantees.

Asked whether Trump wanted Zelenskiy to resign, Waltz told CNN’s “State of the Union” program: “We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians and end this war.”

“If it becomes apparent that President Zelenskiy’s either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands,” Waltz added.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a top Trump ally and also an advocate for Ukraine, questioned whether the United States could still work with Zelenskiy following the White House clash in remarks to reporters on Friday.

House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson issued a similar message on Sunday.

“Something has to change. Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that,” the top congressional Republican told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, referring to Zelenskiy.

“I’d like to see Putin defeated, frankly. He is an adversary of the United States. But in this conflict, we’ve got to bring an end to this war.”