Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump unveils Zelensky letter praising his leadership in address to Congress

Donald Trump reiterated his wish to end the war in Ukraine while failing to blame Russia for starting the conflict as he addressed the US Congress.

“2,000 people have been killed every single week, more than that. They’re young Russian people, young Ukrainian people. They’re not Americans but I want them to stop.”

The US president also blamed Europe for buying Russian oil.

“And we’ve spent perhaps $350bn, like taking candy from a baby. That’s what happened. And they’ve spent a $100bn. What a difference that is. And we have an ocean separating us. And they don’t.

“But we’re getting along with them very well. Lots of good things are happening.”

Donald Trump says he has received a letter from Volodymyr Zelensky praising his “strong leadership” and that the Ukrainian president is ready to sign a proposed rare earth minerals deal.

The remarks came in Mr Trump’s address to Congress, his first speech since pausing US military aid to Ukraine.

“Earlier today, I received an important letter from president Zelensky of Ukraine. The letter reads, ‘Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,’ he said,” Mr Trump said.

Ukrainian soldiers have said they are feeling let down by the US as the war grinds on along the 1,500km frontline.

“I feel betrayed, but this feeling is not really deep for some reason. I was expecting something like that from Trump’s side,” said a Ukrainian soldier fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a daring incursion in August 2024 to improve its hand in negotiations.

On the front line, where Ukraine is struggling to fend off the larger and better-equipped Russian army, another soldier said the US decision would allow further battlefield gains for Moscow.

“War is very pragmatic,” he told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity in compliance with military regulations.

“If we have weapons, enough ammunition, infantry, armoured vehicles and aviation – great. If not, then we’re done,” he said.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said the Oval Office blowup with US counterpart Donald Trump last week was “regrettable,” adding that he stands ready to work under Mr Trump’s “strong leadership” to get a lasting peace.

“We can only regret what happened at the White House instead of our negotiations. But we must find the strength to move forward, to respect one another, just as we have always respected America, Europe, and all our partners, and to do everything together to bring peace closer,” he said in his nightly address.

“Ukraine and America deserve a respectful dialogue and a clear position from one another. Especially when it comes to protecting lives during a full-scale war,” he added, saying that military aid had been cut once before in January for a brief period.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said in remarks published today that Moscow and Minsk benefit from how the United States treats Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and the rift between Washington and the EU.

In an interview with Mario Nawfal, a media personality on Elon Musk’s X, the Russian ally enthusiastically embraced US president Donald Trump and his approach towards the war in Ukraine.

“It is only because of this administration that the issue of ending the war has become so urgent,” Mr Lukashenko, who in January extended his 31-year reign in a presidential election Western governments rejected as a sham, told Nawfal.

“It benefits us that (Trump) showed Zelensky his place, he should know it.”

The Belarusian leader said that Mr Trump had no goal other than to end wars, which he called a “brilliant” foreign policy.

“I am ready to stand next to him and do everything that is necessary to end the war and improve people’s lives,” Mr Lukashenko said.

European Union leaders will discuss on Thursday how to finance a sharp increase in defence readiness to deter any possible future attack from Russia and become less dependent for security on the United States.

The European Commission on Tuesday proposed several ways to raise the funds that would add up to around 800 billion euros over several years.

But how can they do this?

The Commission proposed that defence spending be exempt from EU laws that put annual spending limits on governments to protect EU public finances and the value of the euro currency.

Not all EU governments support the idea, as they say special treatment for defence spending already exists in the rules. What is missing, they say, is a broader definition of defence investment, an issue they would prefer to focus on.

The Commission estimated that if EU governments were to increase their defence spending by 1.5% of GDP on average, it would create fiscal space of close to 650 billion euros over four years. The downside is that such borrowing would widen budget deficits and could worry bond investors, economists said.

Money from the EU’s 2021-2027 budget

The current seven-year EU budget of 1.2 trillion euros, created well before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has no proper funds for defence.

But around one-third of it is earmarked to equalise the standard of living between regions in the 27-nation EU – the so-called cohesion funds – and some of that cash can be used for projects that would be somehow linked to defence, like shelters for civilians or strengthening roads and bridges to allow the passage of tanks.

“We will propose additional possibilities and incentives for Member States that they will decide, if they want to use cohesion policy programmes, to increase defence spending,” the Commission said.

Defence minister John Healey will meet his US counterpart, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in Washington on Thursday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence said.

Healey’s visit comes as European leaders race to draw up a peace plan to present to Washington after US President Donald Trump paused military aid to Ukraine on Monday following a fallout with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last Friday.

After meetings with world leaders at the weekend, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would continue to speak with friends and allies to secure a path to a lasting peace.

“We will advance that work in Washington over the coming days,” Healey said in a statement on Wednesday.

With reporting from Reuters