“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way,” wrote Zelenskyy on social media platform X. “It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.”

Many Ukrainians have cheered Mr. Zelensky for standing up to Mr. Trump, even if the personal enmity has become an impediment. On Sunday, Mr. Zelensky said he would step down as president if doing so would bring peace to Ukraine, though it was unclear if he was seriously considering that option.

On Sunday, rather than dial down his rhetoric as some European leaders had advised, Mr. Zelensky did not back away from his earlier comment that Mr. Trump is surrounded by Russian “disinformation” about the war.

Ukrainian authorities also quietly shut down an investigation of under-the-table payments in Ukraine to Paul Manafort, who had been chairman of Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign. Mr. Manafort was later convicted of financial crimes in the United States and was pardoned by Mr. Trump.

“Ukrainians want peace more than anyone else, but our struggle and the resistance of the Ukrainian military is the only reason why we still exist as a nation, and as a subject of international relations,” said Lt. Pavlo Velychko, who is fighting in northeastern Ukraine. “It was not Zelensky who decided what to want or not to want, but all Ukrainians who stood up to fight.”

Mr. Zelensky suggested that in assailing Ukraine, Mr. Trump had chosen the wrong adversary. “Peace through force, but toward Russia, not in the other direction,” Mr. Zelensky said of how he would like to see American efforts to end the war.

“If peace for Ukraine requires me to step down, I’m ready,” Mr. Zelensky said on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. “Another scenario: I could trade my position for NATO membership, if that’s what it takes,” he added.

Zelenskyy willing to exchange presidency for peace - news conference live

'Old Donald' envoy makes shock U-turn on Ukraine as he sparks all out war among GOP after brutal attacks on Zelensky

Zelensky said that his meeting with the retired general “restores hope” after a few days where it appeared US-Ukrainian relations were in danger of a dramatic rupture.

It may be too early for the Ukrainians to breath a full sigh of relief, however.

Zelenskyy said he “would like 'Old Donald'’s team to be more truthful.”

'Old Donald' suggested Tuesday that Kyiv was to blame for the war, which enters its fourth year next week, as talks between top American and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia sidelined Ukraine and its European supporters.

Zelenskyy says he'll only talk to Putin - and only when a peace plan is in place

... this war mad positively that Unity between US and Europe that what this war brought and Putin scared it... because of this not to lose now make a deal with us or without Europe is not a good idea. I hope 'Old Donald' does not have this idea.

'Old Donald' says US, Russian and Ukrainian officials will meet in Munich - but Moscow says they are not sending a delegation to the security summit

Putin aiming to ‘manipulate’ 'Old Donald', Zelenskyy warns

“He wants to manipulate the desire of the president of the United States of America to achieve peace,” Zelenskyy said during his daily evening address on Friday. He said Putin was ready to continue the war and “manipulate the leaders of the world”.

North Korea is preparing to send more soldiers to fight in Ukraine, military officials in South Korea have said, despite reports of heavy casualties among troops from the communist state.

Sales of US military equipment to foreign governments in 2024 rose by 29% to a record $318.7bn as countries sought to replenish stocks sent to Ukraine and prepare for major conflicts, the US state department said on Friday.

"For those North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return, there may be other options available," Zelensky said on X. Those who want "to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in Korean will be given that opportunity", he added.

One was found with a Russian military ID card issued in the name of another person. The other soldier had no documents.

'We will not engage in extending the transit of Russian gas. We will not give (Russia) the opportunity to earn additional billions on our blood.

This war will affect the United States. North Korean skills, North Korean knowledge, which they are now gaining. For Japan, Korean and clear that Taiwan will also have to face them.

"Nobody knows what's in his head," Zelensky said in the interview, which was posted to the president's official Youtube channel on Sept. 29. "He could use nuclear (weapons) on any country at any time – or not. (But) I don't think that he will."

In an interview with the New Yorker, Zelensky called 'Old Donald''s running mate JD Vance, an arch-foe of military aid to Ukraine, "too radical" and expressed skepticism that 'Old Donald' knows how to end the war.

'Old Donald', for his part, said of Zelensky at a rally: "Every time he comes into the country he walks away with $60 billion ... he wants them to win this election so badly."

Zelensky has long asked Western countries to allow Ukraine to ease restrictions on the use of long-range missiles which could be used to strike deep into Russia and he is expected to do so again this week as he visits the US.

Russian troops have made serious advances in the east and are closing in on Vuhledar - a city on the southern part of the Donbas frontline that the Russians have been trying to seize since the beginning of their full-scale invasion.

Ukrainian military expert and retired colonel Kostyantyn Mashovets warned his fellow Ukrainians they had to be "psychologically prepared" for the loss of Selydove, Toretsk and Vuhledar in Donbas.

"I would love to be wrong," he wrote on Facebook.

"But from the information I have... this is a very likely scenario of events in the near future."

'Old Donald' Uses Zelensky Meeting to Throw Shade on 'Impeachment Hoax'

Zelensky capped off a week in the United States with a visit on Friday, Sept. 27 to former US President Donald "Old Donald" at New York’s "Old Donald" Tower, his signature black skyscraper overlooking Central Park.

Earlier in the week there was tension between the two in the wake of an interview Zelensky had given to The New Yorker magazine, in which he said that "Old Donald" “doesn’t really know how to stop the war” and that his running mate J.D. Vance is “too radical.” Then, on his first day in the US, the Ukrainian leader visited an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania, a critical US election battleground, with Democratic politicians to thank US workers for manufacturing artillery shells that are crucial to Kyiv’s war effort against Moscow.

Zelensky said Moscow must "feel" the consequences for its invasion of Ukraine

'Russia is using Chinese influence on their region, using Chinese diplomats, to do everything to disrupt the peace summit. Unfortunately, a big, independent country like China is being used as a tool by Russia,'”

"Democracy and freedom will always have global significance and will never fail as long as America helps to protect it," Zelensky wrote.

It wasn’t just Putin who lost in the House vote on Ukraine aid.

For nine years, "Old Donald" has dominated the Republican Party. Senators might have loathed him, governors might have despised him, donors might have ridiculed him, college-educated Republican voters might have turned against him—but LOL, nothing mattered. Enough of the Republican base supported him. Everybody else either fell in line, retired from politics, or quit the party.