According to the report, Kyiv received a message on Feb. 26 from Washington stating that President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit and meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump would not take place.
On Feb. 26, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved the decision to sign the deal.
President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Ireland for its support of Ukrainians who fled Russia's full-scale invasion.
The summit comes amid major shifts in U.S.-European relations, with U.S. President Donald Trump sending clear signals that it expects the continent to take a larger role in the defense of Ukraine against Russia's full-scale invasion.
"I will meet with President Trump," Zelensky said in his evening address on Feb. 26. "It is important for me and all of us in the world that America's assistance is not stopped."
Key developments on Feb. 26: * Trump says he will meet Zelensky on Feb. 28 in Washington to sign agreement on minerals * No security guarantees in US minerals deal, to be discussed later, Zelensky says * US, Russia to meet again tomorrow in Istanbul, Lavrov says * No sanctions relief for Russia pre-deal
In January, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Brigadier General Andrii Hnatov had been appointed deputy chief of the General Staff.
While it does not contain any concrete security guarantees, the agreement states the U.S. government "supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace."
"It's now confirmed, and we're going to be signing an agreement which will be a very big agreement," U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 26 during a White House cabinet meeting.
The Kyiv Independent has obtained from a source in the Ukrainian government, the full text of the mineral deal agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine.
According to the Financial Times, Ukraine secured more favorable terms and framed the deal as a way to strengthen ties with the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that the U.S. spent $350 billion on assistance for Ukraine. He also said he wants it back. Trump has used the sum to pressure Ukraine into signing a deal that would give the U.S. at least a 50% interest in Ukrainian
"We didn't feel it was conducive, frankly, to have something out there at the UN that’s antagonistic to either side," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
After the top diplomats of Moscow and Washington met in Riyadh to discuss “peace” in Ukraine — without Ukraine at the table — the conversation quickly shifted to elections, as if they were the only topic discussed and the sole reason the war continues. And once again, U.S. President Donald Trump
The decision was supported by 268 members of parliament, while 12 others abstained.
According to the draft obtained by Axios, the U.S. would express its desire to keep Ukraine "free, sovereign and secure."
"I don't use those words lightly... I think we're going to see how it all works out," U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 24 when asked if he would call Vladimir Putin a dictator the same way he labeled President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Kremlin leader said Russia has significantly larger reserves of rare earth metals than Ukraine and is open to working with foreign partners on developing rare earth deposits, including in the occupied parts of Ukraine, which Putin called "newly controlled regions."
U.S. President Donald Trump said that Washington supported sending European troops to monitor a ceasefire and that he had discussed the proposal with Putin, who “would accept it.”
Trump reiterated his push for a deal between the U.S. and Ukraine, arguing that it would help Kyiv's economy while ensuring that Washington "recoups the tens of billions of dollars and military equipment sent to Ukraine."
"As for Donald Trump... We have just had a conversation. It was a very good conversation within the framework of the G7 meeting led by Canada," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"Thousands of people are being held in Russia. And some of them have been held not only since 2022, but much longer, since 2014," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"When General (Keith) Kellogg was in Kyiv, I handed him and the U.S. president a document with all ceasefires, along with specific dates, that Russia had violated," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Key developments on Feb. 22-23: * Zelensky willing to step down in exchange for peace * Russia launches largest drone attack since start of full-scale invasion * US mineral deal offers no security guarantees for Ukraine, NYT reports * Zelensky won't sign natural resource deal that 'will be paid by 10 generations of Ukrainians'
President Volodymyr Zelensky lambasted ongoing calls to hold elections in Ukraine during a press conference on Feb. 23 amid an unstable security situation across the country.
"I know that there are people from this Hungarian leader who have contact with people in President Trump's orbit, and are constantly raising questions... in regards to not expanding NATO into eastern Europe," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, criticizing Kremlin talking points that NATO was at fault for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back at the U.S.’ demand for a $500 billion deal for its natural resources, saying that the U.S.’s aid grants are not debts, during the Ukraine: Year 2025 forum in Kyiv on Feb. 23.
“I am focusing on security today and not in 20 years time. I don’t plan to be in power for 10 years,” Zelensky told the forum.
The Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur breaks down the stories impacting Ukraine this week. The U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg visited Kyiv as the U.S. President Donald Trump’s team started talks with Russia about a ceasefire deal — without Ukraine’s involvement.
Starmer will visit Washington D.C. in the coming week where he will meet Trump and emphasize that Kyiv “must be at the heart of any negotiations to end the war.”
The U.S. is reportedly looking to obtain an interest in 50% of Ukraine's natural resources through a joint investment fund as payback for its support for Kyiv.
In a 15-minute-long speech, Fico also backed U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent criticism of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Volodymyr Zelensky has been president of Ukraine since 2019. Born in Kryvyi Rih, an industrial city in central Ukraine, Zelensky was known as a media personality and actor before becoming Ukraine’s sixth president.
The 46-year-old’s transformation into a wartime leader saw his approval ratings rise from 37% before the full-scale invasion, to 90% in May 2022. His approval rating fell to 62% by the end of 2023.
Zelensky's five-year term officially ended in May 2024 but he remains president while martial law, enacted after the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, is in place. A February 2024 poll indicated that almost 70% of Ukrainians agree that Zelensky should remain in office and elections should be postponed until martial law is lifted.
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