{"id":17962,"date":"2025-02-23T17:07:46","date_gmt":"2025-02-23T17:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/23\/ukraines-zelenskyy-offers-to-give-up-presidency-for-peace-nato-membership-national\/"},"modified":"2025-02-23T17:07:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T17:07:46","slug":"ukraines-zelenskyy-offers-to-give-up-presidency-for-peace-nato-membership-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/02\/23\/ukraines-zelenskyy-offers-to-give-up-presidency-for-peace-nato-membership-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine\u2019s Zelenskyy offers to give up presidency for peace, NATO membership – National"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a> said Sunday he would be ready to give up the presidency if doing so would achieve a lasting peace for his country under the security umbrella of the NATO military alliance.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Speaking at a forum of government officials in Kyiv marking the three-year anniversary of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a>, Zelenskyy said, \u201cIf to achieve peace, you really need me to give up my post, I\u2019m ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding to a journalist\u2019s question on whether he\u2019d trade his office for peace, Zelenskyy said, \u201cI can trade it for NATO.\u201d<\/p>\n

His comment appeared to be aimed at recent suggestions by U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that elections should be held in Ukraine despite Ukrainian legislation prohibiting them during martial law.<\/p>\n

Earlier on Sunday, Zelenskyy said Russia launched 267 strike drones into Ukraine overnight on Saturday, more than in any other single attack of the war.<\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Ukraine\u2019s air force said 138 drones had been shot down over 13 Ukrainian regions, with 119 more lost en route to their targets.<\/p>\n

Three ballistic missiles had also been fired, the air force said. One person was killed in the city of Kryvyi Rih, according to the city military administration.<\/p>\n

The attack came as leaders in Kyiv and across Europe are seeking to navigate rapid changes in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump, who in a matter of days has upended years of firm support for Ukraine, leading to fears that he would join with Moscow to force a settlement to the war without involving Ukraine and its European backers.<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tUkraine fears Trump’s policy shift toward Putin\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Trump\u2019s engagement with Russian officials and his agreement to reopen diplomatic ties and economic cooperation with Moscow marked a dramatic about-face in U.S. policy.<\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Zelenskyy has expressed fears that Trump pushing a quick resolution would result in lost territory for Ukraine and vulnerability to future Russian aggression, though U.S. officials have asserted that the Ukrainian leader would be involved if and when peace talks actually start.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"For\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n

Get breaking National news<\/h3>\n

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Trump, however, prompted alarm and anger in Ukraine when this week he suggested that Kyiv had started the war, and that Zelenskyy was acting as a \u201cdictator\u201d by not holding elections, despite Ukrainian legislation prohibiting them during martial law.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Russia\u2019s deputy foreign minister on Saturday said preparations were underway for a Trump-Putin meeting, a further sign that the Russian leader\u2019s isolation, at least for the Trump administration, was beginning to thaw.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the latest Russian attacks, however, Andrii Sybiha\u200e, Ukraine\u2019s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that the overnight attack \u201cdemonstrates that avoiding calling Russia an aggressor does not change the fact that it is one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cNo one should trust Putin\u2019s words. Look at his actions instead,\u201d Sybiha\u200e said in a statement on social media.<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tUkraine continuing dialogue with U.S. over mineral deal\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Ukrainian officials on Sunday discussed a deal that would allow the U.S. to access Ukrainian rare earth minerals, a proposal Trump\u2019s administration is pushing for but that Zelenskyy earlier declined to accept because it lacked specific security guarantees.<\/p>\n

At the forum in Kyiv where Zelenskyy made the offer to give up his presidency in return for peace and NATO membership, his chief of staff Andrii Yermak said the government was considering investment opportunities both with the U.S and European countries \u201cwhich includes minerals, their development and extraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yermak left the forum early along with Economic Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko for what he said were talks with U.S. representatives on a potential deal. He said Ukraine\u2019s mineral resources represent \u201ca very important element that can work in the general structure of security guarantees \u2014 military guarantees and others.\u201d<\/p>\n