Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has strongly reacted to the agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to initiate negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, stating that he will not accept any agreement made without Ukraine’s involvement.
The call made by Trump on February 12 is another step in the White House’s efforts to end the war, which began nearly three years ago.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated on February 13 that these efforts do not constitute “betrayal” for Kyiv.
However, the news of the 90-minute phone call shocked all of Europe, and several leaders have complained that they were left out of the process to stop the war.
Zelensky stated that Ukraine “cannot allow everything to go according to Putin’s plan.”
“As an independent state, we cannot accept any agreement that might be made without us. I can say this very clearly to our partners – any bilateral negotiations about Ukraine, not about other issues, but any talks regarding the war in Ukraine, without us, will not be accepted,” Zelensky said during a visit to a nuclear facility in western Ukraine.
His comments came hours after the foreign ministers of key European countries, including those from Germany, France, Poland, and the UK, warned in a joint statement that “Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiation.”
“Any agreement behind our backs will not work, and any agreement must include Ukraine and Europe,” said European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas before journalists following a meeting at NATO headquarters on February 13.
Trump announced his phone call with Putin via a post on the Truth Social platform on February 12, saying that he and Putin agreed to “work together very closely, including visits to each other’s countries.” He also stated that their respective teams would immediately begin negotiations.
He provided more details about the call in further statements from the White House, stating, “I think we are on the path to peace.”
He revealed that following the call with Putin, he also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but did not indicate whether Ukraine would be an equal party in the talks with Russia.
“I think they should agree to peace. Their people are dying,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth stated before NATO allies on February 12 that it is “unrealistic” for Ukraine to return to the borders it had in 2014, and that Ukraine’s NATO membership is not seen as a solution to ending the conflict.
Trump also stated that Ukraine’s NATO membership is not “practical.”
These comments represent the clearest signals from the Trump administration on how he intends to fulfill his promise to end the war, though some observers have suggested that this strategy might be weak and favorable to Russia.
Oxana Shevel, a political science professor at Tufts University, told Radio Free Europe that Ukraine has already accepted that its aspirations for NATO membership will not be on the negotiating table.
However, she warned that for Putin, it would be a significant victory if he could convince Trump to reverse NATO’s declaration about Ukraine’s irreversible path to NATO membership.
“Putin would very much want to achieve that,” Shevel said, though she acknowledged that such a move would not be well received by European NATO members.
Shevel called it a “wrong negotiation strategy” to allow concessions even before talks begin, although it is currently unclear what is being negotiated.
Speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels on February 13, UK Defense Secretary John Haely said, “Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of every negotiation.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said it is clear to him that “Europe must be involved in the negotiations, and it is very easy to understand.”
Russia controls one-fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, and its forces have been fighting in the eastern Donbas region for months.
Hegseth, on his first foreign visit since becoming Secretary of Defense, stated in recent days that Ukraine should prepare for peace talks and that Europe needs to offer more aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky did not express disappointment with these statements, saying that he and Trump had discussed “possibilities for peace” and “the willingness to work together,” among other discussions.
“Ukraine wants peace more than anyone else. We will determine joint steps with America to stop Russian aggression and to guarantee reliable and lasting peace,” he said on social media, according to REL.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the phone call between Putin and Trump showed that “negotiating a peaceful solution is possible.”
The issue of Russia’s war in Ukraine and prospects for peace is expected to be at the center of discussions at the Munich Security Conference, to be held from February 14-16, where Zelensky and senior U.S. officials will participate.
